A Bamana antelope headdress

tji wara, of overall stylized attenuated form, the angled legs supporting the cylindrical body and the arching openwork mane terminating in a delicately tapered vertical head with leather tassles and metal sheets attached, the pointed ears framing the arching horns with leather-covered tips, decorated overall with incised linear and notched motifs; deep brown patina.

Collected by the owner in the Segou region of Mali near Fana, January 11, 1967

Cf. Imperato (1970: 8-13, 71-80) and Zahan (1980) for related headdresses and extended discussion of the function and meaning of these headdresses worn during agrarian-themed ceremonies among the Bamana.