Bamana Marka Helmet Headdress OLD African Mask Mali (05/19/2009)

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Bamana Marka Helmet Headdress OLD African Mask Mali

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Bamana Marka Helmet Headdress OLD African Mask Mali

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Sold Date: 05/19/2009
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Ethnic, Folk & Native American Art

Bamana Marka Helmet Headdress OLD African Mask Mali

Stunning OLD Marka Bamana Helmet Headdress Mask w/ Lizard, Inlaid Shells
Antique African Art - Tribal Sculpture - Mali

Collected from the: Marka (Warka) peoples of the northern Bamana (Bambara) territory in Mali, West Africa
Material: Carved wood, cowrie shells, seed beads, leather, brass sheeting, cloth, thread, iron tacks
Period: Mid 20th century
Dimensions: 15" height, 6.5" width, 14" length; weight is 5.25 pounds
Condition: Exceptional. Held in a private New Mexico collection, exquisite form with intricately detailed decoration, minute age cracks test stable, exposed wood displays significant patination, all embellishments remain securely attached. Make special note of the delightful top lizard, serene facial expressions and intricate inlaid detail on the carving; substantial patination of the brass adds spectacular swirls of color on this charming old character!

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Bamana (Bambara) Marka (Warka) Helmet Headdress Masks
Masks of Black Africa depicts a similar piece while noting, "This semi-helmet mask is the only one in this group in which human features without animal attributes are evident." The Warka (also known as Marka) occupy the northern region of the Bambara (Bamana) territory. Although they speak different languages, they share a number of institutions and are famous for their masks and puppets.

Bamana (Bambara) Marka (Warka) Tribal History
"The 2,500,000 Bamana people, also called Bambara, form the largest ethnic group within Mali and occupy the central part of the country, in an area of the savannah. They live principally from agriculture, with some subsidiary cattle rearing in the northern part of their territory. The Bambara people are predominantly animists, although recently the Muslim faith has been spreading among them. The Bambara kingdom was founded in the 17th century and reached its pinnacle between 1760 and 1787 during the reign of N'golo Diarra. N'golo Diarra is credited with conquering the Peul people and in turn claimed the cities of Djenne and Timbuktu. However, during the 19th century, the kingdom began to decline and ultimately fell to the French when they arrived in 1892. For the most part, Bambara society is structured around six male societies, known as the Dyow . The stylistic variations in Bambara art are extreme - sculptures, masks, and headdresses display either stylized or realistic features, and either weatd or encrusted patinas. Until quite recently, the function of Bambara pieces was shrouded in mystery, but in the last twenty years field studies have revealed that certain types of figures and headdresses were associated with a number of the societies that structure Bamana life," according to Bacquart. "Among the Bamana and Maninka, initiation societies, called jow , were and sometimes still are of profound social and political significance. Some of them like the Ntomo, Kore , or their local equivalents, impose rites of passage: in the villages w they exist, every boy has to accomplish their rituals in order to accede to adulthood. Other socities such as the Komo , the Nama and the Ci-wara are "power associations" in which men participate in order to gain power and protect their dependents." For many of those interested in the African art, the Bamana have come to be seen as a classic example of "traditional" Sudanic civilization, a conservative inward-looking society of farmers and artists largely unaffected by the forces which shape Malian history. A most remarkable society of people living in the middle Niger Valley that somehow resisted the full thrust of Islamic religious renewal, the holy wars of the nineteenth century, and subsequent French imperialism and colonization - they appear almost heroic ...