Not Visible to the Naked Eye: Inside a Senufo Helmet Mask

Dallas Art Exhibition
Dallas Museum Of Art
1717 North Harwood
Dallas TX 75201
https://dma.org/art/exhibitions

11/23/19-06/19/22

The DMA’s Conservation and Arts of Africa departments, in an exciting and cutting-edge collaboration with UT Southwestern Medical Center, will present CT scans of a Senufo helmet mask from the Museum’s African art collection. This kind of mask is worn like a helmet by a medium at initiations, funerals, harvest celebrations and secret events conducted by the powerful male-only Komo society, which has traditionally maintained social and spiritual harmony in Senufo villages in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Visible attachments on the mask include a female figure, cowrie shells, and imported glassware. The CT-scans reveal unexpected materials beneath the surface and objects contained in the attached animal horns that empower the mask.

Dr. Matthew A. Lewis and Dr. Todd Soesbe, faculty members of the Department of Radiology at the Medical School of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, assisted with this exhibition.

Press
The New York Times
“Where to Go to Watch the Paint Dry”
January 21, 2020
NBC DFW
“Science Uncovers Secrets of West African Helmet Mask at Dallas Museum of Art”
January 20, 2020
The Art Newspaper
“How medical experts helped curators discover the hidden secrets of a Senufo h…”
January 4, 2020