Exhibit Overview

The rich collection of art glass and masks were the gift to the University of Toledo Libraries from Dorothy Price and Peggy Grant who collected them. The exhibit contains three glass cases—two with art glass and one with ritual and tribal art masks,—which are located on the first floor of the Carlson Library. The glass pieces were created by numerous artists. Some of the masks are actual ritual masks that may have been used in African, Asian, and Native American practices. The Native-American piece is especially interesting because it features strings to open and close the mouth and eyes. The rest of the masks are tribal art with nature-inspired motifs and designs that once symbolized the human connection to nature.

The virtual exhibit aims to bring this collection to the university community (and beyond) interested in culture and the arts. Visitors can view the entire cases, close in on each individual shelf, and open each exhibit item in a large view. Most large views are photographs taken from multiple angles to provide adequate detail. Since some of the original exhibit labels do not precisely identify the artist or the culture or origin; therefore, it was necessary to designate additional pages in this exhibit with Weblinks to scholarly and other reliable information that hopefully inspires future research on art glass and masks.

The virtual exhibit is a recent project of the University Libraries Digital Initiatives Department:

Arjun Sabharwal, Coordinator of Digital Intiatives
Mark Walker, Media Specialist

We also thank the University Library for the support and assistance with the project.