I took a day off before my vacation - a wonderful day to pick out a new camera and backpack, get chores done and even breezily pop in to the Metropolitan Museum of Art 15 minutes before closing.
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| A portion of "Under Bryant Park" by Samm Kunce |
According to the museum folks:
Zoomorphic helmet masks, the most prestigious and powerful masks worn by the Senufo men's Poro society members, are worn at funerals of important elders. The masks' aggressive qualities ... express the supernatural powers they embody.
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| Senufo Helmet Mask 19th-mid 20th C, wood |
Again:
The Northwest Coast peoples of North America have mythic cycles that feature important ancestors and supernatural beings. Encounters between them are visualized in elaborate performances.
The impressive whale masks of the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples are grand constructions in which the mouth, finds, and tail of a sea mammal are made to move in imitation of a whale swimming. The tail goes up and down, the lateral flippers move in and out, and the great mouth opens. The dorsal fin also moves slightly.
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| Whale Transformation Mask British Columbia, ca. 1890 |
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| Peruvian vessels |
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| Stirrup Spout Bottle - Owl Peru, 15th-9th C B.C. |
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| Stirrup Spout Bottle - Frog Peru, 2nd-5th C |
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| Mortar - Monkey Ecuador, 2nd millenium B.C. |
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| Vessel - Turtle Panama, 300-500 A.D. |
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| Vessel - Monkey Panama, 900-1100 A.D. |
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| A view of "Clouds" by Olaf Breuning |
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