Face Mask with Female Figure (satimbe)
Attribution follows a published museum catalogue or peer-reviewed scholarship. Object is held in a public collection under a published accession number.

Dogon masks are worn at the end-of-mourning ceremonies called dama. The masks incarnate ancestors, which can be human, animal, or vegetal. The female figure with raised arms topping this example represents the mythical character Yasigine, who played a key role in the very first sigi celebration. Held every 60 years, the sigi ceremony commemorates the arrival of death.
Catalogued by Cleveland Museum of Art as “Face Mask with Female Figure (satimbe)”, dated early to mid-1900s. Harvested from the museum’s open-access record; every field below is copied from that record and none of it has been inferred.
| People / culture | Dogon |
|---|---|
| Country | Mali |
| Common name | Face Mask with Female Figure (satimbe) |
| Form category | Face mask |
| Materials | Wood and organic materials |
| Dimensions | Overall: 111.1 cm (43 3/4 in.) |
(Pierre Matisse Gallery, NY, to 1960)
| Collection | Cleveland Museum of Art |
|---|---|
| Accession number | 1960.169 |
https://clevelandart.org/art/1960.169
This record is a catalogue entry, not an appraisal, valuation or legal determination. Nothing here should be read as evidence that an object was lawfully acquired or exported.