Pair of figures ·  Mali, Bamana · ID: 3032535

Description

wood, greyish brown patina, traces of black paint, eyes with metal tags, male/female, rising from long legs, provided with voluminous shoulders and striking small heads with large ear conches, incised scarifications, slightly dam., cracks, side by side mounted on a plate;
“jo” characterizes the entity of the rites and cults of the Bamana people. “Jo” is embodied by two kinds of figures: by “jo mooni”, a figural depiction of the spirit of “jo” and by “jo nyeleni”, effigies of the female founders of the cult. Presumably the two figures depict “the primordial couple” of the Bamana.

The object Pair of figures with the object ID 3032535 was last part of the auction 68th tribal art auction at March 3, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 284 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,000.

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Comparing literature

Colleyn, Jean Paul (Hg.), Bamana, Zürich 2001, p. 143 f.