Barakat Gallery
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Home
  • Artworks
  • Exhibitions
  • About
  • Contact
Menu
  • Menu

The Barakat Collection

Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Bambara Brass Mask, 19th Century CE - 20th Century CE

Bambara Brass Mask, 19th Century CE - 20th Century CE

Brass
7.5 x 14.5
X.1030 (LSO)
Enquire
%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3EBambara%20Brass%20Mask%3C/span%3E%2C%20%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E19th%20Century%20CE%20%20-%20%2020th%20Century%20CE%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3EBrass%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E7.5%20x%2014.5%3C/div%3E
This impressive minimalistic brass mask was made by the Bamana/Bambara group of Mali. It comprises a tall, slim face, greatly extended with a pointed hat. The eyes are small and...
Read more
This impressive minimalistic brass mask was made by the Bamana/Bambara group of Mali. It comprises a tall, slim face, greatly extended with a pointed hat. The eyes are small and almond-shaped, clustered closely around the long, sharp nose. The mouth is also very small; the face is reminiscent of Modigliani’s primitivist renderings of the human face. The hatband is a raised section that crossed the forehead, while the hat is in a crested design running antero-posteriorly. The ears are adorned with what may be earrings or perhaps sideburns. Comparatively little is known about Bamana masking traditions compared with their extensively studied neighbours, the Dogon. However, it would have belonged to a prominent member of a secret society. The fact that it is made from metal implies that it was an elite object, as metal was an exceptionally rare and valuable resource in pre-colonial Africa.
The Bambara/Bamana is one of the largest groups in Mali (about 2.5 million) and lives in a savannah grassland area that contrasts strongly with the Dogon heartland. Their linguistic heritage indicates that they are part of the Mande group, although their origins go back perhaps as far as 1500 BC. The Mande-speaking Songhai empire dissolved in the 1600s, and many Mande speakers spread out along the Nigeria River Basin. The Bamana empire arose from these remnant populations in around 1740, and reached its imperial maximum in the 1780s under the rule of N’golo Diarra.
Their society is Mande-like overall, with patrilineal descent and a nobility/vassal caste system. Their complex history is echoed in the systematics of indigenous art traditions. There are four main mask forms, related to various secret societies. Other forms include the famous Chi-Wara headcrest, which was used to encourage good harvests, and heavily encrusted zoomorphic ‘Boli’ figures. Everyday items include iron staffs, door-locks, wooden puppets and equestrian figures, which double as accessories for male initiation ceremonies.
This is an unusual and highly decorative piece of African art.
Close full details
Share
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Email
Previous
|
Next
15297 
of  28197

London

48 Albemarle Street,

London, W1S 4JW

info@barakatgallery.eu 

 

       


 

CONTACT | TEAM | PRESS 

 

Seoul
58-4, Samcheong-ro,
Jongno-gu, Seoul
+82 02 730 1949
barakat@barakat.kr
             

 

Los Angeles

941 N La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90069
+1 310 859 8408

contact@barakatgallery.com

  


 

 

Facebook, opens in a new tab.
Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Send an email
View on Google Maps
Manage cookies
Copyright © 2025 Barakat Gallery
Site by Artlogic


Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences
Close

Join our mailing list

Sign Up

* denotes required fields