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Helmet Mask
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
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.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineHelmet 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
