The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Helmet Mask (tönköngba or tabakän)

Helmet Mask (tönköngba or tabakän)

early 1900s

Description

It seems that this type of object--once used among various peoples in the region--could have served both as a shrine and as a dance headdress. It would only have been part of a dance when a sacrifice to the ancestors was needed, at a funeral, or during a male initiation. Despite obvious animal references, the type represents an invented composite being that some described as a creature of the sea.
  • Katherine White Reswick
  • Petridis, Constantijn. South of the Sahara: selected works of African art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2003. Reproduced: cat. 5, p. 40 - 41
    Robbins, Warren M. African Art in American Collections = L'art Africain Dans Les Collections Americaines. New York: F.A. Praeger, 1966. Reproduced: p. 71, no. 50
    Robbins, Warren M. African sculpture. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Pub, 2005. Reproduced: p. 71, no. 50
    Curtis, Marie Yvonne. Baga. Milan, Italy : 5 Continents Editions, 2018. Reproduced: p. 91, pl. 25; mentioned: pp. 46, 125
  • Year in Review: 1969. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).
    CMA 1970: "Year in Review 1969," CMA Bulletin LVII Jan., 1970), p. 47, no. 127, repr. p. 38.
    CMA 1968: "African Tribal Images: The Katherine White Reswick Collection," cat. no. 45, repr.
  • {{cite web|title=Helmet Mask (tönköngba or tabakän)|url=false|author=|year=early 1900s|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1969.3