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Pair of Headdresses (Tyi Wara Kunw)

Two large dark brown wood horned animal headdresses.

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  • Two large dark brown wood horned animal headdresses.

Date:

Mid–19th to early 20th century

Artist:

Bamana
Baninko region, Mali
Northern Africa and the Sahel

About this artwork

These headdresses were all worn by men in male-female pairs during performances celebrating the mythical farming beast named Chiwara, which introduced the Bamana people to agriculture. The rituals motivated young men to work hard. Each headdress combines the graceful horns of an antelope with the body of an aardvark. A young male calf sits upon the female’s back, symbolizing the fertile union of men and women and of the earth and the sun.

Status

On View, Gallery 137

Department

Arts of Africa

Culture

Bamana

Title

Pair of Headdresses (Tyi Wara Kunw)

Place

Mali (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1850–1925

Medium

Wood, metal, brass tacks, and grasses

Dimensions

Left: 98.4 × 40.9 × 10.8 cm (38 3/4 × 16 1/8 × 4 1/4 in.); Right: 79.4 × 31.8 × 7.6 cm (31 1/4 × 12 1/2 × 3 in.)

Credit Line

The Art Institute of Chicago, Ada Turnbull Hertle Endowment

Reference Number

1965.6-7

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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