Tribal Art

Sculpture depicting a woman on whose back is clinging a child. The woman carries an offering cup. The piercing, deep gaze and strong nose characterize the physiognomy. The dense, oily patina, ocher brown in color, has grainy areas. Minor cracks and abrasions.
The Bambara of central and southern Mali belong to the large Mande group, like the Soninke and the Malinke. Large masked parties close the initiation rites of the dyo association and the gwan ritual of the Bambara in the south of the Bambara country. Spread over a period of seven years for men, they are less demanding for women. The new initiates then celebrate, in groups, from village to village, their symbolic rebirth. It is the sons of the blacksmiths who dance around these statues that were placed outside the festivities grouped on an altar after having oiled and decorated them. Each effigy carried a message revealed to the initiates.