David Ikuukaq, c. 1972, Art Gallery of Ontario, Gift of Samuel and Esther Sarick, Toronto, 1996
Manasiah Akpaliapik, 1987, Art Gallery of Ontario,
MEDIUM: mottled beige-brown stone, skin, wood, antler, sinew, ivory
CREDIT LINE: Gift of Samuel and Esther Sarick, Toronto, 1996
OBJECT NUMBER: 96/796
LOCATION: AGO, Gallery 106 Walker Court, Floor, Vitrine
GALLERY NUMBER: AGO, Gallery 106
Frances Norma Loring, c. 1938, Art Gallery of Ontario
Sculpture
MEDIUM: plaster, patina
CREDIT LINE: Gift of the Estates of Frances Loring and Florence Wyle, 1983
OBJECT NUMBER: 83/65
Frances Norma Loring, c. 1950, Art Gallery of Ontario
MEDIUM: plaster, green paint
CREDIT LINE: Gift of the Estates of Frances Loring and Florence Wyle, 1983
OBJECT NUMBER: 83/74
Ruth Cuthand, 2016, Art Gallery of Ontario
Sculpture: 112 vessels with glass beads and resin, hand-beaded blue tarpaulin tablecloth, and 10 MDF "gas board" panels
Purchased with funds from Karen Schreiber and Marnie Schreiber through The American Friends of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Inc., 2017
NICARAGUA, WESTERN REGION
Sapoá Period (800-1350)
Greater Nicoya
Papagayo Polychrome-style Standing Female Figure
Earthenware, slip, painted decoration
28.5 x 17.5 x 11 cm
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Lorne C. Webster, inv. 1972.Ac.72
Musee des Beaux Arts de Montreal
Representations of female shamans (awa) abound in the Greater Nicoya region. With the power to enter into communication with other worlds and the spirits present in nature, they were often depicted as hybrid figures undergoing transformation. This example bares its teeth, reminiscent of fangs; the large eyes underline the importance of visions during shamanic trances. The plumed serpent shown on the headdress may illustrate what the awa sees. As for the body ornaments, they correspond to those worn by the region’s inhabitants. The complex patterns adorning the torso of this figure likely allude to the body painting created using carved roller stamps.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO, KASAI REGION
Chokwe
Mwana Pwo Mask
Before 1972
Wood, vegetable fibre, pigments
35 x 18.3 x 18 cm
Ernest Gagnon Collection, gift of the Province du Canada français de la Compagnie de Jésus, inv. 1975.F.162
Musee des Beaux Arts de Montreal
This Mwana Pwo mask depicts an idealized feminine beauty, but its carver was probably inspired by a woman in his community who was admired for her physical attractiveness and her personality. The fibre coiffure replicates the oil-and clay-coated braids of Chokwe women, while the design on the forehead, the cingelyengelye, represents a connection to the divine principle. Its form was perhaps drawn from the cross-shaped pendants introduced to the region by the Portuguese in the seventeenth century. In this matrilineal society, such a mask was worn by a man to honour the women of the community – in particular the female ancestor of the lineage – in a dance that imitated their calm and graceful movements. A very strong bond was forged between the dancer and the mask, which was often placed in his grave.
Musee des Beaux Arts de Montreal
JAPAN
Meiji period (1868-1912)
Nō Mask of Hannya
Carved wood, lacquer
23.4 x 17.1 cm
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gerald W. Birks, inv. 1949.50.Ee.1
The hannya is a mask worn by the character of a beautiful woman who has been transformed into an ugly demon through jealous rage. This mask has gilt horns and teeth, and hair painted in disarrayed strands. Hannya masks are given different skin tones to convey different states: when paler than this mask, they express feminine delicacy and are worn in such plays as Aoi-no-ue [Lady Aoi]; when dark red, they embody great passion, as can be seen Dōjō-ji [The Girl at Dōjō-ji Temple] and Kuro-zuka [Black Mound].