Large puppet head ·  Mali, Bamana · ID: 3040236

Description

wood, dark brown patina, rising from a long neck, coiffure with two plaits on each side, face and head coated with punched metal sheet, partly lined with red fabric, dam., cracks, missing parts, traces of insect caused damage, base;
belonging to a puppet figure “merekun”. The puppet theatre “sogo bò” is subject to the patronage of “kamalen ton”, a society of boys coming from one village community. The theatre consists of a sequence of singular scenes, interrupted by short performances of singing and dancing.

The object Large puppet head with the object ID 3040236 was last part of the auction 82nd Tribal Art Auction at February 27, 2016 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 266 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,000.

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Comparing literature

Museum of Primitive Art (ed.), Bambara sculpture from the Western Sudan, New York 1960, p. 34 f.