Ciwara Bamana Crest - Lot 15

Ciwara Bamana Crest Mali Wood, plant fibers and metal L. 34.5 cm Provenance: - Galerie Alain Lecomte, Paris, acquired in 2015 Bibliography: - Dominique Zahan, Antilopes du Soleil, Arts et rites agraires d'Afrique Noire, Ed. A. Schendl, Vienna, 1980. Bamana country stretches along the banks of the Niger River, to the west and south of present-day Mali. Ciwara crests were used to celebrate agrarian rites. Mounted on wickerwork bonnets, they featured highly stylized antelopes. Worn by members of the secret Ciwara society, they evoked the mythical union of the sun (masculine principle) and the earth (feminine principle). An ode to fertility and fecundity, they also rewarded hard work. This Bamana work marvelously combines stylization of form with purity of volume, and the remarkable flight of its horns gives it a horizontal appearance. It represents an antelope whose features are skilfully idealized. The head and body are linked by a metal band, as is customary for this type of crest.