Description

This statue depicts a woman with a proud bearing. Seated on a stool, her legs bent, she holds an object in her hands. The head has the typical bell shape found in Malian sculpture, atop a long neck. The face, with its geometric features, contrasts with the elongated face dominated by an arrow-shaped nose and almond-shaped, close-set eyes. The depth of the head is emphasized by the converging lines of the chin and headdress. A headdress with a sagittal crest forming a braid that falls to the neck is adorned with a necklace of carved amulets. The biceps and wrists are decorated with sculpted bracelets. This mask, made of dense, hard ironwood, has a black patina.