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Source Description
The iconography of this helmet mask is comprised of sculpted renderings of different animal attributes including a ram's horns, a warthog's tusks, a crocodile's mouth, and a hyena's snout. Carved between the long antelope horns is a miniature chameleon that holds an abstract wing-shaped motif called mangele. Intended to impress and terrify, the sculpture's fearsome aesthetic alludes to the mask's power as an anti-sorcery device.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
146937
label
Helmet Mask
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
146937
contentType
object
title
Helmet Mask
description
The iconography of this helmet mask is comprised of sculpted renderings of different animal attributes including a ram's horns, a warthog's tusks, a crocodile's mouth, and a hyena's snout. Carved between the long antelope horns is a miniature chameleon that holds an abstract wing-shaped motif called mangele. Intended to impress and terrify, the sculpture's fearsome aesthetic alludes to the mask's power as an anti-sorcery device.
date
early to mid-1900s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Mask
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 122 cm (48 1/16 in.)
cul
Western Sudan, Ivory Coast, Senufo, 20th century
accession
1972.336
Source extras
tec
wood
tombstone
Helmet Mask, early to mid-1900s. Western Sudan, Ivory Coast, Senufo, 20th century. Wood; overall: 122 cm (48 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Katherine C. White, 1972.336
collection
African Art
formerAccessionNumbers
754.68
citations
citation
Fagg, William, and Cleveland Museum of Art. 1968. <em>African Tribal Images; the Katherine White Reswick Collection</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, no. 18.
creditline
Gift of Katherine C. White
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:31:43.316000
sourceId
146937
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
wood
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
04fbfd7ebfa464f2