Bamana, Marka, or Sorogo Eastern Segou region, Mali Northern Africa and the Sahel

Female Face Mask

INV-1858

Bamana, Marka, or Sorogo Eastern Segou region, Mali Northern Africa and the SahelLate 19th/early 20th century

Female Face Mask

Bamana, Marka, or Sorogo Eastern Segou region, Mali Northern Africa and the Sahel →

bamanaArts of AfricaNorthern Africa and the Sahelsegoumaskswood

Date

Late 19th/early 20th century

Medium

Wood, copper, and indigo

Dimensions

28 × 14 × 10.8 cm (11 × 5 1/2 × 4 1/4 in.)

Museum

Art Institute of Chicago

Location

Chicago, IL

Credit

Gift of Richard Faletti, the Faletti Family Collection

Variously attributed to the culturally related Bamana, Marka, or Sorogo peoples, this small mask with its striking indigo-blue color and decorative copper strips shows signs of intense usage. It depicts a beautiful and alluring Fulani maiden named Meren, a popular character in entertainment performances sponsored by youth associations among the Bamana and their related neighbors. The Fulani are a large group of Islamic nomadic merchants and pastoralists that ranges widely over West Africa.

Also notable

Works in the same vein

Pair of Headdresses (Tyi Wara Kunw)

Bamana Baninko region, Mali Northern Africa and the Sahel

Zoomorphic Figure (Boli)

Bamana Mali Northern Africa and the Sahel

Male Face Mask (N'tomo)

Bamana Segou region, Mali Northern Africa and the Sahel

Helmet Mask (Kono Kun)

Bamana Mali Northern Africa and the Sahel