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Chi Wara Headcrest

Bamana
mid 20th century
Object Place: Mali

Medium/Technique Wood, fiber
Dimensions 53 x 60 cm (21 x 24 in.)
Credit Line Gift of William E. and Bertha L. Teel
Accession Number1996.369
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsSculpture
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.

ProvenanceMarch 11, 1978, sold by the Gallery of Primitive Man, New Orleans, to William and Bertha Teel, Marblehead, MA; 1996, partial gift of William and Bertha Teel to the MFA; 2014, acquired fully with the bequest of William Teel to the MFA. (Accession Dates: December 18, 1996 and February 26, 2014)