Helmet Mask (Kono Kun)

Early to mid-20th century

Bamana
Mali
Northern Africa and the Sahel

Led by griots (musicians/storytellers) with an ability to mediate spiritual energy, the name Kono designates one of several Bamana power associations—organizations restricted by age and profession. This type of helmet mask, locally known as Kono kun (Kono head), is danced to control antisocial behavior. Stored in a shrine when not performed, the mask’s carved features and real animal attachments such as horns and quills create a composite entity whose powers derive from the natural world it references.

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

Culture: Bamana
Title: Helmet Mask (Kono Kun)
Place: Mali (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.: 1900–1975
Medium: Wood, horn, quills, and sacrificial material
Dimensions: 22.9 × 103.5 × 28.6 cm (9 × 40 3/4 × 11 1/4 in.)
Credit Line: Through prior gifts of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Baker, Mr. and Mrs. Dave Chapman, Dr. H. Van de Waal; through prior acquisitions of the Robert A. Waller Fund
Reference Number: 1997.62

Kathleen E. Bickford and Cherise Smith, “Art of the Western Sudan,” African Art at the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum Studies, vol. 23, no. 2 (1997), pp. 104-119; 114, fig.7 (ill.).
Kathleen Bickford Berzock, For Hearth and Altar: African Ceramics from the Keith Achepohl Collection (The Art Institute and Yale University Press, 2005), p. 69.
Susan Elizabeth Gagliardi, Senufo Unbound: Dynamics of Art and Identity in West Africa (The Cleveland Museum of Art and 5 Continents Press, 2015), p. 258.
Constantine Petridis et al., Speaking of Objects: African Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2020), cat. no. 10, pp. 44-45 (ill.).
Constantine Petridis, Brittany Dolph Dineen, and Susan Elizabeth Gagliardi, “A Kono Power Association Helmet Mask,” Art Institute of Chicago ARTicle, June 1, 2021.

Unknown private collector, Belgium, from late 1960s [conversation with P. Leloup dated Jan. 30, 1997, documented in curatorial file]; sold to Philippe Leloup and Hélène (ex-Kamer) Leloup, Arts Primitifs, Paris, by 1996 [acquisition documentation in curatorial file]; sold to the Art Institute, 1997.

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.

Suggested Terms

See all hours

On View

Date:

Artist:

About this artwork

Status

Department

Culture

Title

Place

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.

Medium

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

Extended information about this artwork

Publication History

Provenance

Share

Explore Further

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Gallery actions

Image actions

Share