Helmet Mask (Bwoom)

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Possibly late 19th to mid-20th century

Kuba
Kasai region, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Central Africa

Embellished with cowrie shells, beads, seed pods, copper sheeting, goatskin, and hair, bwoom is one of three types of royal Kuba masks, all of which are treated as embodiments of nature spirits (mingesh). According to one local interpretation, the bwoom mask represents a prince who suffered from a neurological condition that caused his head to swell with accumulated fluid. Another says that bwoom is the image of one of the original Twa (Pygmy) inhabitants of the region. During performances the masks reenact episodes in the foundation of the kingdom.

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

Culture: Kuba
Title: Helmet Mask (Bwoom)
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.: 1875–1945
Medium: Wood, metal, glass beads, cowrie shells, fabric, pigment, seeds, thread, and leather
Dimensions: 63.5 × 49.9 × 67.3 cm (25 × 18 1/2 × 26 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Edward E. Ayer Endowment in memory of Charles L. Hutchinson
Reference Number: 1982.1506

Francois Neyt, Arts Traditionnels et Histoire au Zaire (Bruxelles, 1981), pp. 160, fig. 8.
Constantine Petridis et al., Speaking of Objects: African Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2020), cat. no. 61, pp. 150-151.

Peter Loebarth, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Belgium, by late 1970s; sold to Jacques Hautelet, Brussels, Belgium, and La Jolla, Calif., during late 1970s [personal communication documented in curatorial file, 10/6/2013]; sold to the Art Institute, 1982.

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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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