Headdress: Kponyungo

Artist Senufo Peoples (African)

Place of OriginIvory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire), Bagor River Valley region

DateMid 19th - early 20th century

DimensionsOverall (H x W x D): 12 1/8 × 11 1/2 × 34 in. (30.8 × 29.2 × 86.4 cm)

MediumCarved wood

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1973.9

Not on View

Label TextNicknamed “Open Jaws,” this mask might be described as a “battleship” of defensive weapons against the spirit world. During funeral and mortuary rites, the Kponyngo (“head”) mask wages spiritual combat against evil forces that may be lurking or that may be held responsible for the death. The mask is a composite of many animals—hyena, wild boar, chameleon, hornbill, antelope, and ram. Chameleon is prominently depicted (between the horns), for it is considered to be a messenger between humans and gods. When a Kponyungo mask performs, it can emit fire or sometimes a swarm of bees envelops the spectators’ heads before returning to the mask’s jaws.Published References

"African Art," The Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 16, no. 2, 1973, p. 33, repr. fig. 5.

Roberts, Mary Nooter, Facing Africa: The African Art Collection of the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, 1998, pp. 52-53, repr. (col.).

Comparative ReferencesSee also Wardwell, Allen, Primitive Art in the Collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, 1965, no. 65, (ill.).

cf. WIllett, Frank, African Art, An Introduction, New York, Pareger, 1971, p. 150, (ill.), 139.

cf. Bascom, William, ed., The Art of Black Africa, Collection of Jay C. Leff, Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, 1969, cat. no. 156, (ill.).

cf. Trowell, Margaret and Hans Nevermann, African and Oceanic Art, New York, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1968, p. 72 (ill.).

cf. Robbins, Warren M., African Art in American Collections, New York, Frederick Pareger, 1966, p. 95, fig. 95, p. 97, fig. 99.

cf. Fagg, William, African Tribal Images, The Katherine White Reswick Collection, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968, cat. no. 18.