Native America

3 masks from Greenland

Masks of the World is the name of this website, so it behooves me to occasionally show masks from unusual locations. Let’s visit Greenland today. These photos were taken by Mary Payne at the Quai Branly Museum in Paris. It is famous for its important collection of ethnographic arts.

Called Kiaapaatt masks, these three were collected in 1934 from somewhere in Greenland. I’m assuming the Kiaapaatt are an Inuit culture that immigrated from Canada after the 13th century. I’ve seen Inuit masks from Northern Canada that look slightly like these.  Bob, 1175

 

2 Comments

  • Maria

    Bob, I think these masks are absolutely fantastic! I urge you to post more Greenlandic, or just Arctic in general masks on your blog. The history behind them is very interesting and sometimes the craftsmanship absolutely amazing when you take into consideration that these people had time and motivation to provide such fine art when life in arctic conditions was so hard on a day to day basis. Love your blog! 🙂

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