Bambara Antelope Headdress (Chiwara)

Carved from a single wood block, two long parallel horns rise from the head, incised with continuous diagonal grooves and each bound at mid-point by a band of sheet brass; a tuft of hair is fixed at the tip. Two flat blade-form ears rise diagonally beside the horns, incised with linear grooves. The head is carved with hatched triangular fields above a brass band, and the muzzle descends as a long tapering form sheathed in sheet brass, finished with cowrie shells, beads, and a red textile tassel.

The superstructure is composed of multiple concentric arcs joined by diagonal struts, creating triangular openings; the outer arc projects in serrated points. Cowrie shells and red textile tassels are fixed at the tips of the outer points. Sheet brass, worked with punched dot and circle ornament, is applied to the muzzle, head, and body, with red textile showing through lozenge and triangle cut-outs.

The body is set horizontally beneath the mane, wrapped in textile below a brass band and terminating in a serrated tail; it rests on vertical and diagonal supports set on a rectangular, low-set base.

Surface is compact and stable, with exposure at projecting elements and contact points; applied brass, cowrie shells, and textile tassels retained; textile wrap frayed at its lower edge.

Among the Bambara, Chiwara headdresses are worn in agricultural ceremonies marking planting and harvest cycles.

From the Felice Maffei Collection, acquired in Mali, 1984.

Title

Bambara Antelope Headdress (Chiwara)

Culture

Bambara

Origin

Mali

Date

19th–20th century

Dimensions

H 124 cm (48.8 in) · W 28 cm (11 in)

Medium

Wood, sheet brass, textile, cowrie shells, beads, hair

Provenance

From the Felice Maffei Collection, acquired in Mali, 1984.

Condition

Stable patina; exposure at projecting elements; applied materials retained.