Helmet Mask (Kholuka or Mbala)

Late 19th-early 20th century

Yaka
Bandundu region, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Central Africa

In the past, Yaka masks like this example comprising a wooden face with a dome-shaped hairstyle of twigs and cloth appeared in performances marking the end of the male puberty ritual called n-khanda. They embodied the ancestors who watched over fertility and well-being, and celebrated the boys’ reintegration into society as adults after a long period of seclusion at the edge of the village. The masks’ imagery refers to Yaka concepts of cosmogony and sexuality.

Status: On View, Gallery 137
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Yaka
Title: Helmet Mask (Kholuka or Mbala)
Place: Democratic Republic of the Congo (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1875–1925
Medium: Wood, raffia, and pigment
Dimensions: H.: 45.7 cm (18 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Neal Ball
Reference Number: 2009.118

Evan Mauer, editor. Sculpture of Africa: Selections from a Private Collection, exh. cat. (Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Museum of Art, 1984), cat. no. 22 (ill.).
Constantine Petridis et al., Speaking of Objects: African Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2020), cat. no. 56, pp. 142-143 (ill.).

Ann Arbor, Michigan, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Sculpture of Africa: Selections from a Private Collection, November 2–December 23, 1984, cat. 22; travelled to Illinois, Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois, 19 January 19–March 3, 1985 and Chicago State University, President’s Gallery, May 29–June 27, 1985.
Chicago, Harold Washington Library Center Gallery, Forms of Expression, February 5–April 17, 1993.

Sulaiman Diane, New York, by 1983 [this and the following according to personal communication from Neal Ball dated April 19, 2009 in curatorial file]; sold to Neal Ball, Chicago, 1983 [on loan to the AIC from April 1993]; given to the Art Institute, 2009.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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