Ceremonial headdress "kwonro" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Senufo · ID: 3034497

Description

wood, blotched brown patina, cap-like wickerwork crest, rep. (metal clamps), min. dam., cracks, traces of abrasion;
the “kwonro” ceremonial headdress is a type which was worn by Nafana initiates, who were lavishly decorated with white cowrie shell ornaments, in a public dance that celebrates to the community the completion of “kwonro” and the second grade of “poro”. The flat openwork board would originally have been covered with ritual white paint in the checkerboard patterns. The openwork figure or ideogram in the centre is one of the most common images in Senufo graphic arts, that of the “ndeo” or nature spirit. These crests are rare, only few of them are preserved.

The object Ceremonial headdress “kwonro” with the object ID 3034497 was last part of the auction 72nd tribal art auction at March 9, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 305.

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Comparing literature

Förster, Till, Die Kunst der Senufo aus Schweizer Sammlungen, Zürich 1988, p. 17 f.