Antelope dance crest "tijwara" ·  Mali, Bamana · ID: 3039229

Description

wood, matt greyish brown patina with remains of black paint, metal tag eyes, miniature glass beads, horizontal type with long projecting horns, separate carved head fixed by metal clamps, as well as the ring-shaped projection on top, depicting a second antelope in highly stylized form, slightly dam., missing parts (left horn tip), rep. (right horn in two places, ring-shaped projection), traces of insect caused damage, abrasion of paint;
the carved antelopes are known as “tijwara” - “the beast who labors” (“tij”: work, “wara”: wild animal). They recall a fabulous being, half man, half animal, who in legendary past thaught man how to cultivate the earth. But as grain grew abundant, men began to waste it. “Tijwara"buried himself in the ground, and men, having lost him, carved a mask in his memory. These headdresses were in male and female pairs on basketry caps. The dancers were bent over forelegs of wooden sticks and were completely hidden by cloaks of plant fibre. The central meaning of “tijwara” originally was to encourage the collective farming of land with the hoe. Accordingly they performed on three occasions: competitive weeding, dances of joy after the collective field work was done and at the annual celebration of the initiation society.

L’objet Antelope dance crest “tijwara” avec l’ID d’objet 3039229 a fait partie de la dernière vente aux enchères 81st Tribal Art Auction dans 31 octobre 2015 le Zemanek-Münster Hôtel des ventes. L’objet portant le numéro de lot 178 a atteint un prix de vente de 2 000 €.

Vous trouverez ici d’autres objets et des informations utiles sur le thème Art africain.

Littérature comparée

Colleyn, Jean Paul (Hg.), Bamana, Zürich 2001, p. 201 ff. Museum of Primitive Art (ed.), Robert Goldwater, A Memorial Exhibition, New York 1973, p. 15 f.