Mama, Nigeria: a very old dance crest in the form of a bush cow head.
The Mama people live in northeastern Nigeria, on the border of Cameroon, between the city of Jos and the Benue River. The men of the Mama tribe were earlier viewed as powerful warriors. Their typical dance crests in the form of a buffalo or bush cow head belong to the great dance rituals of their ‘Udawaru society’, performed at burials and ceremonies of sacrifice and fertility. They are worn with voluminous full body costumes made of palm leaf strips on the head. The present bush cow dance crest of the Mama, visibly very old, is carved from hard, brown wood and dyed red. It displays a crack on the left horn (glued) and a small loss on the tip of the horn. The upper, partly encrusted, flaking, old patina on this piece is impressive, and the shiny patina on the underside indicates the protracted use of the object.
Height: 12 cm; length: 31 cm; width: 20 cm.
Between c. 1900 and the first third of the 20th century. (ME)
Provenance:
Austrian private collection.
Lit.:
‘Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture’ by K.-F. Schaedler, ill. p., 411.
Specialist: Erwin Melchardt
Erwin Melchardt
+43-1-515 60-465
erwin.melchardt@dorotheum.at
20.02.2017 - 14:00
- Starting bid:
-
EUR 500.-
Mama, Nigeria: a very old dance crest in the form of a bush cow head.
The Mama people live in northeastern Nigeria, on the border of Cameroon, between the city of Jos and the Benue River. The men of the Mama tribe were earlier viewed as powerful warriors. Their typical dance crests in the form of a buffalo or bush cow head belong to the great dance rituals of their ‘Udawaru society’, performed at burials and ceremonies of sacrifice and fertility. They are worn with voluminous full body costumes made of palm leaf strips on the head. The present bush cow dance crest of the Mama, visibly very old, is carved from hard, brown wood and dyed red. It displays a crack on the left horn (glued) and a small loss on the tip of the horn. The upper, partly encrusted, flaking, old patina on this piece is impressive, and the shiny patina on the underside indicates the protracted use of the object.
Height: 12 cm; length: 31 cm; width: 20 cm.
Between c. 1900 and the first third of the 20th century. (ME)
Provenance:
Austrian private collection.
Lit.:
‘Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture’ by K.-F. Schaedler, ill. p., 411.
Specialist: Erwin Melchardt
Erwin Melchardt
+43-1-515 60-465
erwin.melchardt@dorotheum.at
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| Auction: | Tribal Art |
| Auction type: | Saleroom auction |
| Date: | 20.02.2017 - 14:00 |
| Location: | Vienna | Palais Dorotheum |
| Exhibition: | 11.02. - 20.02.2017 |