Portrait Masks from the Northwest Coast of America
King, J.C.H. - ID: 8276
Survey of carved portrait masks from the Kwakiutl, Nootkan, Haida, Tsimshian and Tlingit peoples of the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia and Alaska. Illustrated throughout.In the highly developed society of the peoples of the Northwest coast - from British Columbia to Alaska - ceremonial was of paramount importance. Masks played a leading role in the ceremonies asnd were used in dances celebrating the wealth and ancestry of chiefs or in healing rites carried out by shamans. Strikingly realistic and embellished with abstract animal crests, the masks enabled the wearer to assume the personality of a superior being and thus bridge the gap between the spiritual and physical worlds. They are not only the most dramatic expression of the art of these peoples but are also the most inspiring creations of aboriginal America.
Softcover, 96pp., 19x25cm., richly illustr. in col. and b/w., in very good condition. ISBN: 0500060061.
19x25cm
96 pp.
Thames and Hudson 1979 London
