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

Helmet Mask (possibly 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:

Belonging to the Kono association, one of the Bamana people’s most powerful men’s groups, this mask’s shape seems to evoke the hyena, an animal reputed for its intelligence and its knowledge of the bush. The Kono’s main task is to offer its members protection against witchcraft. It is also responsible for fostering fertility, solving conflicts, disciplining troublemakers, and sentencing criminals. Masquerades are among the Kono’s most public expressions; the mask’s performance is characterized by energy and vigor.

Object facts

• Title: Helmet Mask
• Date: possibly early to mid-1900s
• Culture: Africa, West Africa, Mali, Bamana-style blacksmith-carver
• Type: Mask
• Technique: Wood and organic materials
• Dimensions: Overall: 36 cm (14 3/16 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 2011.196

A detail from the museum

This mask likely depicts a hyena, an animal known for its intellect and knowledge of the bush.

Collection credit

Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Colleyn, Jean-Paul, Mary Jo Arnoldi, Museum for African Art (New York, N.Y.), and Museum Rietberg. 2001. Bamana : The Art of Existence in Mali. New York, Zurich, Gent: Museum for African Art ; Museum Rietberg ; Snoek-Ducaju & Zoon, cat. 179.
• Gagliardi, Susan Elizabeth, and Constantijn Petridis. Senufo Unbound: Dynamics of Art and Identity in West Africa. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015.

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.