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Source Description
Deliberately distorted and exaggerated facial features reflect the awesome powers of a great chief. The quadrupeds on the mask’s head suggest the close association between the leopard and the king. In the Cameroon grasslands, masks are typically related to a regulatory society that guards ancestral mores; society members wear the masks and dance in the secrecy of the night.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
146172
label
Helmet Mask
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
146172
contentType
object
title
Helmet Mask
description
Deliberately distorted and exaggerated facial features reflect the awesome powers of a great chief. The quadrupeds on the mask’s head suggest the close association between the leopard and the king. In the Cameroon grasslands, masks are typically related to a regulatory society that guards ancestral mores; society members wear the masks and dance in the secrecy of the night.
date
early 1900s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Mask
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 33 x 63.5 x 41.9 cm (13 x 25 x 16 1/2 in.)
cul
Africa, Central Africa, Cameroon, possibly Kom-style maker
accession
1971.66
Source extras
tec
Wood, paint, organic material, and iron alloy
tombstone
Helmet Mask, early 1900s. Africa, Central Africa, Cameroon, possibly Kom-style maker. Wood, paint, organic material, and iron alloy; overall: 33 x 63.5 x 41.9 cm (13 x 25 x 16 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William D. Wixom in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph M. Coe, 1971.66
collection
African Art
citations
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art "1971 Year in Review." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 59, no. 1, cat. 21.
citation
African Arts 1972a, "New Acquisitions." African Arts 5, no. 4 (1972): 78, p.69.
citation
Sica, Emelia, Evelyn Mitchell, and Cleveland Museum of Art Department of Art History and Education. 1973. <em>An Introduction to the Arts of Africa and Oceania</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, p. 8.
citation
CMA 1991b, Handbook of The Cleveland Museum of Art, 143.
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Henry John Drewal. 1989. <em>African Art : A Brief Guide to the Collection : The Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: Museum, fig. 31.
citation
Petridis, Constantijn. <em>South of the Sahara: selected works of African art. </em>Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2003.
page_number
Reproduced: cat. 31, p. 92 - 93
creditline
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William D. Wixom in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph M. Coe
updatedAt
2026-06-16 14:24:07.171000
sourceId
146172
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
Wood, paint, organic material, and iron alloy
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
52bb23ad68997e26