Helmet Mask (early to mid-1900s): Art, History and Details

Helmet Mask (early to mid-1900s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This type of helmet was worn in rituals demonstrating a boy’s transition from one age group to the next, prior to his actual initiation into the secret Poro society. The pre-initiates were viewed as unknowing and anxious oxen, so the horns on such helmets may refer to those of horned cattle. The female figure alludes to women’s supernatural powers, which assure the welfare of Poro members.

Object facts

• Title: Helmet Mask
• Date: early to mid-1900s
• Culture: Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Senufo-style carver
• Type: Mask
• Technique: Wood, upholstery studs, and colorant
• Dimensions: Overall: 34.9 cm (13 3/4 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 1975.152

A detail from the museum

Cowrie shells, feathers, and other accessories once decorated this helmet.

Collection credit

Gift of Katherine C. White

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Cleveland Museum of Art. 1975 Year in Review. Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 63, no. 3, cat. 29.
• Fagg, William. African Tribal Images; the Katherine White Reswick Collection. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968, no. 22.
• Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1975.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 63, no. 2 (1976): 31–71.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.