BAMANA CREST MASK (SOGONI KUN) OF THE TYI WARA SOCIETY BELEDUGU REGION, MALI

the crest mask modelled with a streamlined body resembling that of an antelope with a pair of long and slightly upturned antlers flanking the rounded head and extending horizontally towards the back, above a hemispherical arch with an upturned tip simulating the body and tail of the animal, the body and head constructed separately and joined together with iron staples

Richard Rodgers, New York, acquired from Julius Carlebach, 1959.
The Thirteen Collection.
A private collection, New Jersey, acquired from the above, May 1981, lot 2304.
Sotheby’s New York, 12th May 2005, lot 40.
A private collection, Paris.
Galerie Jacques Germain, Montreal.

Jacques Germain, Arts ancien de l’Afrique noire, Volume III, Montreal, 2006, pp. 18-19.

Exceptionally old with an encrusted patina. Wear to the attachment holes on the ears, and tips of horns broken. Significant patina over the surface of the horns indicating the age of the loss, and that the object was used extensively in the culture. Wear consistent with use. The neck carved as a separate section of wood, and affixed with old metal staples.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The sweeping lines of this superbly balanced crest mask, or sogoni kun, possess a calligraphic quality. Jean-Paul Colleyn has noted how Bamana artists possessed ‘extraordinary skill in incorporating [outside] influences’ (Colleyn, Bamana, 2009, p. 51), such as that of Islamic calligraphy, into the forms of objects created as part of ‘traditional’ Bamana belief systems, such as those of the Tyi Wara  society. Crest masks such as the offered lot have a symbolic resemblance to the antelope which in Bamana mythology was the bringer of agrarian knowledge. They were created and danced in male and female pairs during public ceremonies which celebrated the fecundity of the land, with the male (sun) and female (earth) united as a metaphor for the essential principles of human fertility and agricultural fecundity.

As well as their formal quality, crest masks of this ‘horizontal’ style are distinctive for an interesting idiosyncrasy in their construction. All other genres of Bamana sculpture are monoxylic (carved from a single piece of wood), but the head and the body of these horizontal crest masks are invariably carved separately and then joined together with U-shaped nails, nailed metal or leather collars, or iron staples, as in the offered lot. Dominque Zahan proposes that because this approach was not technically necessary it must reflect an underlying symbolic intention, perhaps related to the idea of unifying two separate elements into a coherent and balanced design.