-Passport- mask Date Unknown

This is an anonymous wooden mask, its place and date of origin are currently unknown. It is titled 'Passport.' The ambiguity around this mask invites us to speculate on the politics of imagery and the social conditions of its production. What does it mean to make a passport for a mask? The institution of the passport is a relatively recent one in global history. Before the First World War, international travel was far less regulated. Could this title refer to the identity and origins of the mask itself, which are now lost? Or perhaps it speaks to the forced migration of peoples and objects in the modern era. As historians, we have a role to play in unravelling the mysteries around objects like this. We need to use historical resources and institutional archives to better understand its social and political context.