Antelope mask "ntomo" · Mali, Bamana · ID: 3035741
Galerie Témoin, Geneva, Switzerland
Antonio Fiacco, Fehraltorf/Zurich, Switzerland
Description
wood, slightly encrusted brown patina, of typical form, the upper part coated with resin-like mass with attached cowrie snails (partly missing), crowned by five vertically protruding horns, dam., missing parts through insect caused damage, cracks, slight traces of abrasion;
in Bamana society each member has to pass through six initiation levels during his life in order to achieve perfect wisdom. Present mask belongs to the first initiation level, “ntomo”, which is followed by “komo”, “nama”, “kono”, “tjiwara” and “kore”. When entering “ntomo” the young boys had to learn how to keep silent and how to suffer in silence. According their main song goes: “shut up, shut up, the spoken word is the enemy…”
The object Antelope mask “ntomo” with the object ID 3035741 was last part of the auction 75th tribal art auction at November 30, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 150.
You can find more Masks and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.