Antelope dance crest "tjiwara" · Mali, Bamana · ID: 3037068
Description
light wood, slightly shiny dark brown patina, min. dam., fine cracks, small missing parts (horn tips), slight traces of abrasion, base (with handwritten number “1982”);
this dance crest is formerly from the collection of the Parisian collector Philippe Ratton, whose uncle Charles Ratton was friends with numerous modern artists.
The Bambara in Mali danced these masks at large ceremonies that serve to bring fertility to the fields. Never danced alone, they appeared in pairs or sometimes even in large groups. An antelope is always depicted that, according to legend, was married to a young girl called Sanou Koulouni and as can be seen here, was carried on the back of the antelope.
This sculpture is not just interesting in that it unites two legendary figures but also the cubistic workmanship that applies not just for the antelope but also for the figure that sits on its back.
Comparing literature
Museum of Primitive Art (ed.), Bambara sculpture from the Western Sudan, New York 1960, p. 46 f. Zahan, Dominique, Antilopes du Soleil, Vienne 1980, pl. 70 f.