Antelope headdress "tjiwara" · Mali, Bamana · ID: 3047350
Description
wood, brass, insect caused damage, rest., base
The “tjiwara” society members use a headdress representing, in the form of an antelope, the mythical being who taught men how to farm. The word “tji” means work and “wara” means animal, thus “working animal.”
They perform at farming contests that recognize a champion farmer. Always performing together in a male and female pair, the coupling of the antelope masqueraders speaks of fertility and agricultural abundance.
The object Antelope headdress “tjiwara” with the object ID 3047350 was last part of the auction 96th Auction at April 24, 2021 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 153 achieved a sales price of EUR 3,000.
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