BAMBARA Southern Mali, region of Segou h 64 cm Mask. Hardwood... Lot 36

BAMBARA Southern Mali, region of Segou h 64 cm Mask. Hardwood with a dark glaze, small rope around the legs of the female figure. This depicts the stylised face of an antelope sculpted in a single block of wood, upon which the image of a female figure is located on its brow in front of the animal’s horns. The “cubist” style of the miniature figure is in line with great Bambara works. The face of the mask is marked by geometric engravings. The seven horns have a specific meaning: four is the number that distinguish the male sex from the female sex. PROVENANCE Private collection (2001); LITERATURE WILLET FRANK "African Art" London 1971, pag. 14, n°5 (18); LEUZINGER ELSY "L'Arte dell'Africa Nera" Milan 1972, pag. 49, B10 (15); VARIOUS AUTHORS “Bamana: The art of existence in Mali” Museum Rietberg Zurich Editor Calleyn J. P. 2001, pag. 105 (429);