Mask: wood

Dublin Core

Title

Mask: wood

Subject

Cherokee Indians
Handicraft
Indigenous American masks
Indigenous American wood-carving
Woodwork -- Appalachian Region, Southern

Description

This undated photograph by an unknown photographer shows an example of a Cherokee dance mask. The mask maker's name is unknown. Cherokee masks were typically carved from buckeye or poplar, but were also be made from hornets' nests, animal hides, or gourds. The maker of this wood mask used dark animal fur, possibly bear, to imitate hair at the top of the mask. Traditionally, red-colored masks like this one were often stained with clay mixed with pokeberries or other natural dyes. Masks were used by Cherokees for a variety of traditionally ceremonial purposes and were made in a wide range of styles, from variations on the “booger” mask, to depictions of animals, including bear and deer, and the seven Cherokee clans.

Creator

Unknown

Source

Photograph Collection

Publisher

Hunter Library Digital Collections, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC 28723

Date

unknown

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/

Format

jpg
photographs

Type

StillImage

Identifier

16214
https://southernappalachiandigitalcollections.org/object/16214

Date Created

2009-01-15

Rights Holder

All rights reserved. For permissions and use, contact Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Cherokee, NC 28719;

Spatial Coverage

Qualla Boundary
Appalachian Region, Southern

Extent

7" x 5"(dimension)

Is Part Of

Craft Revival

Collection

Citation

Unknown, “Mask: wood,” OAI, accessed May 12, 2025, https://sadc.qi-cms.com/omeka/items/show/16214.