Hermitage invites people to take a fresh look at masks of other kinds created on the African continent in the 1800s and 1900s. Today when the mask has all but become a symbol of modern times, many aspects of this type of African plastic art might be comprehended differently from before. Around 100 items have been selected for the display, demonstrating the diversity of forms, devotion to traditions and the ideological potential of masks. The exhibition has been created on the basis of the collections of the State Hermitage and the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), as well as private collections.