The Bamana Ci wara association with which this work is identified celebrates the vital spirit of agriculture and, by extension, the fruitfulness of both the earth and humans and the ideas of regeneration. Antelope headdresses, which like nearly all Bamana wood carvings are made by blacksmiths, appear as male and female pairs at sowing and at harvest competitions, as well as at marriages. The female here displays a baby on its back, a feature typical of the type. Affixed to basketry caps, both horizontal and vertical genres exhibit stylized pierced shapes with degrees of abstraction, and are best seen in profile.

Provenance

March 11, 1978, sold by the Gallery of Primitive Man, New Orleans, to William and Bertha Teel, Marblehead, MA; 1996, gift of William and Bertha Teel to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 18, 1996)

Credit Line

Gift of William E. and Bertha L. Teel

#1996.369

Mali
Dimensions
53 x 60 cm (21 x 24 in.)
Medium or Technique
Wood, fiber
Classification
Sculpture
Type
Headcrest Headcrest
Accession Number
1996.369
Out on loan

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