Lot n° 90
Estimation :
600 - 800
EUR
CIMIER TJI WARA BAMBARA, MALI
Wood with black-brown patina, horsehair, native fabric, cotton fibers, cowrie shells, leather, wicker
H. 91 cm
Carved crest of a female antelope, as indicated by the absence of a mane, carrying her fawn on her back, with high twisted horns and bent neckline.
The wickerwork headdress has been preserved. Probably from the 1950s-60s.
According to Bambara mythology, it was an antelope that gave man the first seed, enabling him to develop agriculture. The tji wara masquerade, during which the crest danced in pairs, invoked the fertility of the earth and the whole community in memory of this transmission.
Cf. Dominique Zahan, Antilopes du Soleil - Arts et
Rites Agraires d'Afrique Noire, Editions A. Schendl,
Vienna, 1980, IF 62, plate 22.
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