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Ngbaka. <em>Mask</em>, 19th century. Wood, 13 x 9 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (33 x 25.1 x 14.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1585. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1585_PS2.jpg)
Ngbaka. Mask, 19th century. Wood, 13 x 9 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (33 x 25.1 x 14.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1585. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1585_PS2.jpg)
Ngbaka. <em>Mask</em>, 19th century. Wood, 13 x 9 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (33 x 25.1 x 14.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1585. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1585_PS2.jpg)

Ngbaka. Mask, 19th century. Wood, 13 x 9 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (33 x 25.1 x 14.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1585. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1585_PS2.jpg)

Ngbaka. <em>Mask</em>, 19th century. Wood, 13 x 9 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (33 x 25.1 x 14.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1585. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1585_glass_bw.jpg)

Ngbaka. Mask, 19th century. Wood, 13 x 9 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (33 x 25.1 x 14.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1585. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1585_glass_bw.jpg)

Ngbaka. <em>Mask</em>, 19th century. Wood, 13 x 9 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (33 x 25.1 x 14.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1585. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1585.jpg)

Ngbaka. Mask, 19th century. Wood, 13 x 9 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (33 x 25.1 x 14.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1585. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1585.jpg)

Ngbaka. <em>Mask</em>, 19th century. Wood, 13 x 9 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (33 x 25.1 x 14.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1585. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1585_bw.jpg)

Ngbaka. Mask, 19th century. Wood, 13 x 9 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (33 x 25.1 x 14.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1585. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1585_bw.jpg)

Ngbaka. <em>Mask</em>, 19th century. Wood, 13 x 9 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (33 x 25.1 x 14.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1585. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1585_view2_acetate_bw.jpg)

Ngbaka. Mask, 19th century. Wood, 13 x 9 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (33 x 25.1 x 14.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1585. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1585_view2_acetate_bw.jpg)

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Mask

Arts of Africa

Although little information exists concerning the masking traditions of the many ethnic groups of the Ubangi region in the northern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, masks were likely used during the activities which surrounded boys' initiations and circumcisions. Masks from the region can be identified by their characteristics scarification marks: rows of bumps or incisions running across the forehead and down the bridge of the nose, sometimes extending to the chin.

CULTURES Ngbaka; possibly Banja
MEDIUM Wood
  • Place Made: Nord-Ubangi Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo
    • DATES 19th century
    DIMENSIONS 13 x 9 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (33 x 25.1 x 14.6 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Arts of Africa
    ACCESSION NUMBER 22.1585
    CREDIT LINE Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Flat, ovoid mask with ears partly in relief, open eye sockets and mouth. Scarification marks in three rows across forehead, down center of nose, chin, and temples. Nostrils indicated, punctuated under lower lip. Perforations at eyes and mouth. Teeth represented. Black patination. Condition: Worm-eaten; edges broken, crack along right side of face-repaired.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Ngbaka. Mask, 19th century. Wood, 13 x 9 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (33 x 25.1 x 14.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1585. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1585_PS2.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 22.1585_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
    You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
    Ngbaka. <em>Mask</em>, 19th century. Wood, 13 x 9 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (33 x 25.1 x 14.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1585. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1585_PS2.jpg)

    TAGS

    Mask
    19th century African Art
    African Mask
    African
    wood
    Ngbaka
    Ubangi region
    Cicatrization
    alien
    bald
    ears
    eyes
    head
    Boys
    Initiation
    Gaza
    Scarification
    Art
    Assignment

    TAGS

    Mask
    19th century African Art
    African Mask
    African
    wood
    Ngbaka
    Ubangi region
    Cicatrization
    alien
    bald
    ears
    eyes
    head
    Boys
    Initiation
    Gaza
    Scarification
    Art
    Assignment

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