Bamana Sogoni Koun Headdress, Mali

with Waterbuck Antelope (Kobus ellipsirymnus) hair.

The Gallery of African Art, Washington, D.C.
Harold Gray, Washington, D.C., acquired from the above on January 17, 1970

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Genesis: Ideas of Origin in African Sculpture, November 19, 2002 – July 6, 2003

Warren M. Robbins and Nancy I. Nooter, African Art in American Collections, Washington, 1989, p. 70, fig. 47
Alisa LaGamma, Genesis: Ideas of Origin in African Sculpture, New York, 2002, p. 99, cat. 55

Excellent condition for an object of this rare type and age. Very minor scratches and surface abrasions. Area of fraying to woven fiber cap, separating from proper left edge of wooden element and reed-lattice support. Very fine dark aged reddish brown patina.
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Describing the Gray Bamana sogoni koun headdress on the occasion of the 2002 exhibition Genesis: Ideas of Origin in African Sculpture, LaGamma (2002: 99) notes: "The architecture of this sogoni koun headdress is especially elastic and fluid.  The upper rim of its circular framework is punctuated by a series of vertically projecting horns that ascend, front to back, in height and physical intensity.  Their graduated arrangement calls to mind a musical scale.  The foremost horn is short and curves slightly forward; the second is bolder, centered, and vertical; and the third, a pair positioned at the outer edge of the rim, is much thicker than the others, surging upward and curving slightly back.  Bundles of coarse animal hair, perhaps taken from an antelope tail or mane, are bound to the tips of the final set.  The sculptural element survives with its original woven basketry cap intact."

"In contrast to the sharp vertical elements, the overall configuration of the headdress body unfolds as a gentle loop.  A narrow tip on the front extremity bears an extremely compressed, abbreviated face.  From there the linear body continues up and around to where it almost comes full circle.  The body turns abruptly inward, however, just at the point where the two parts might join and terminates against the resulting circle's inner back side.  Directly above this intersection, another band - a chord, geometrically speaking - extends across and terminates above the head, creating an additional internal loop.  The two interior chords form a zigzag motif that unifies the upper and lower halves of the composition.  This two-tiered scheme is typical of sogoni koun designs, but here it has been taken to an extremely abstract level."

"The pronounced curvature of the sculptural form in this example evokes the manner in which the pangolin (Manis tricuspis, also known as the scaly anteater) may curl up in a ball, like a hedge-hog, in order to protect itself.  Dominique Zahan has outlined some of the physical attributes of the pangolin that are often evoked in the two-tiered sogoni koun design, which he considers a regional manifestation of ci wara: a long body covered with scales; a small head with a narrow, conical muzzle, and a long tail.  The pangolin quality depicted most often is the animal's unusual corporeal flexibility [Zahan 1980, p. 75].  The configuration of the pangolin's spinal column allows it to curl into a ball or rise up into a semicircle, and this physical suppleness, Zahan emphasizes, is especially apparent in this kind of sogoni koun headdress."

"The choice of the pangolin also reflects a respect for the animal's physical power, which enables it to dig extensive underground tunnels [ibid., p. 72].  Zahan suggests that these tunnels recall the root system of the sorghum plant, widely cultivated by Bamana farmers, and that both types of 'arteries' - the tunnels and the roots - are referenced visually in this style of headdress by graphic elements linking the two tiers (in this example, the internal zigzag motif)."