Marionette · Mali, Bamana · ID: 3033057
not available anymore
Provenance
Cornelis Pieter Meulendijk, Rotterdam, The NetherlandsPierre Dartevelle, Brussels, Belgium
Size
H: 89 cm
H: 35.0 inch
Description
wood, dark brown patina, a female half figure with high tapering headgear rising from a long staff, partly stud with metal sheet, min. dam., minor missing parts, fissures, slight traces of abrasion;
presumably 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.
Comparing literature
Bambara sculpture from the Western Sudan, New York 1960, p. 34, ill. 42