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Suku helmet masks are often used in initiation ceremonies for young men in the society. Helmet masks such as this represent images of deceased elders in the society. They are to ensure successful hunting, help cure illnesses, and protect its wearer from evil. The animal shaped like a gazelle or antelope is typically associated with folktales, proverbs, and personal hunting exploits.

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Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
74e633e8a6855bb8
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
168746
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "168746",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Mask (hemba)",
    "description": "Suku helmet masks are often used in initiation ceremonies for young men in the society. Helmet masks such as this represent images of deceased elders in the society. They are to ensure successful hunting, help cure illnesses, and protect its wearer from evil. The animal shaped like a gazelle or antelope is typically associated with folktales, proverbs, and personal hunting exploits.",
    "date": "late 1800s–early 1900s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.450",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Mask"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.450/2010.450_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.450/2010.450_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.450/2010.450_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 50 x 25 x 27.2 cm (19 11/16 x 9 13/16 x 10 11/16 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Suku-style carver"
    ],
    "accession": "2010.45"
}

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Document identity
{
    "localId": "168746",
    "label": "Mask (hemba)",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "168746",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Mask (hemba)",
    "description": "Suku helmet masks are often used in initiation ceremonies for young men in the society. Helmet masks such as this represent images of deceased elders in the society. They are to ensure successful hunting, help cure illnesses, and protect its wearer from evil. The animal shaped like a gazelle or antelope is typically associated with folktales, proverbs, and personal hunting exploits.",
    "date": "late 1800s–early 1900s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.450",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Mask"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.450/2010.450_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.450/2010.450_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.450/2010.450_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 50 x 25 x 27.2 cm (19 11/16 x 9 13/16 x 10 11/16 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Suku-style carver"
    ],
    "accession": "2010.45"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "Wood, reed, paint, and metal",
    "tombstone": "Mask (hemba), late 1800s–early 1900s. Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Suku-style carver. Wood, reed, paint, and metal; overall: 50 x 25 x 27.2 cm (19 11/16 x 9 13/16 x 10 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 2010.450",
    "collection": "African Art",
    "didYouKnow": "Suku helmet masks are often used in initiation ceremonies for young men in the society.",
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "Bastin, Marie-Louise, et al. <em>Utotombo. L'Art d'Afrique noire dans les collections privées belges: Société des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, Bruxelles, 25 mars-5 juin 1988</em>, 99. Exh. Cat. Brussels: Société des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, March 25-June 5, 1988.",
            "page_number": "Reproduced: p. 99, cat. XXXI"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Petridis, Constantine. \"René and Odette Delenne.\" In <em>Tribal Art</em> XV-4, no. 61 (Autumn 2011): 121.",
            "page_number": "Reproduced: p. 121, fig. 7"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em>. Vol. 53 no. 05, September/October 2013",
            "page_number": "Mentioned & reproduced: p. 3",
            "url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAMM2013-05/page/n1"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Petridis, Constantine, et al. <em>Fragments of the Invisible: The René and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture.</em> Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art. Milan: 5 Continents Editions, 2013, 19, 24, 29, 44, 120.",
            "page_number": "Reproduced: pp. 63, 120; mentioned: p. 113-114, cat. 23"
        },
        {
            "citation": "\"In Case You Missed It: Fragments of the Invisible.\" The International Review of African American Art 25, no. 1 (2014): 10-11.",
            "page_number": "Reproduced: p. 10."
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.450",
    "creditline": "René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund",
    "updatedAt": "2026-05-29 08:40:51.544000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.450/2010.450_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 168746,
    "dept": "African Art",
    "coll": "African Art",
    "med": "Wood, reed, paint, and metal",
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
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    "mediaId": "74e633e8a6855bb8"
}