Origin: Mali, Bamana ethnic group

Dated: 2nd half XX century

Description: The Baman people's helmet mask of a young woman in its vertical style refers to the tji-wara masks of antelopes. This is a rare example of a mask depicting a woman. Contemporary Baman art, especially souvenir art, is dominated by objects referring to the style of tji-wara and ntomo masks. Masks depicting a woman are rare, although women are suspected of possessing many secret abilities due to their ability to give birth. Myths and legends - as with many peoples of West Africa - tell about a time when women were in possession of powerful forces that they could not control, and therefore men took care of them.

Literature:

Colleyn Jean-Paul, 2001, The power associations: The Chi-wara, [w:] J.-P. Colleyn (red.), Bamana. The art of existence in Mali, New York-Zürich.

Prądzyńska Ewa, 2014, Sztuka Bamana w zbiorach Muzeum Narodowego w Szczecinie, w: Sławomir Szafrański et al. (red.) Sztuka Afryki w kolekcjach i badaniach polskich, Szczecin: Muzeum Narodowe w Szczecinie, s. 495-524.

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The purchase is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport as part of the National Institute of Museums and Collections' own program "Expansion of museum collections".