Masque, Bamana, Mali

Charles Ratton (1895-1986), Paris
Collection André Schoeller (1930-2015), Paris
Collection Viviane Jutheau, Comtesse de Witt, acquis en 1991

Zürich, Rietberg Museum,  Bamana : Afrikanische Kunst aus Mali, 9 septembre – 9 décembre 2001 (New York, Museum for African Art)

Colleyn, Bamana : Afrikanische Kunst aus Mali / Bamana, The art of existence in Mali / Bamana, un art et savoir-vivre au Mali, 2002, p. 104, n° 80

Good condition overall. Wear consistent with age and use within the culture. The external left horn is broken and glued. Some scratches and tiny losses to the thick patina where the beautiful geometrical decoration in shape of scarification remains visible and well preserved. One old Ratton label to the rear.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

La variété des formes composant le corpus des masques du Ntomo – société chargée de l’initiation des enfants – témoigne de l’inventivité des artistes Bamana. La liberté de leur interprétation était cependant contrainte par deux critères fondamentaux : l'association d'un visage anthropomorphe à une rangée de deux à huit cornes, dont le nombre indiquait le genre du masque (ici les trois cornes l'identifieraient à un masque masculin), et la discrétion de la bouche, signifiant « le contrôle de la parole et les vertus du silence transcrites par le chant moralisateur principal du Ntomo : Tenez durement votre bouche, tenez durement votre bouche, c’est la bouche l’ennemi» (Zahan, 1960 in Colleyn, Bamana, Un art et un savoir-vivre au Mali, 2002, p. 97). 

Le masque du Ntomo joue un rôle socioculturel majeur chez les Bamana. Présent lors de toutes les grandes fêtes de réjouissance, son appréciation se fonde sur des critères esthétiques : « il doit être beau et le danseur talentueux» (Colleyn, Bamana, 2009, p. 28). Ici l'inventivité de l'artiste s'affirme dans l'exceptionnelle formulation du visage, dont le large plan s'anime sous la tension de la nervure médiane et dans le réseau des scarifications finement gravées, mises en valeur par la profonde patine d’usage. 

Bamana mask, Mali 

The diversity of forms that make up the corpus of the masks of the Ntomo is a testament to the inventiveness of Bamana artists. However, the freedom of interpretation by the artists was constrained by two fundamental criteria: the combination of an anthropomorphic face with a row of two to eight horns, the number of which show the type of mask (here the three horns identify a male mask), and the discretion of the mouth, which conveyed "The control of speech and the virtues of silence as set out in the main moralistic song of the Ntomo: Keep your mouth fast, keep your mouth fast, the mouth is the enemy" (Zahan, 1960 in Colleyn, Bamana, Un art et un savoir-vivre au Mali, 2002, p. 97). 

The Ntomo mask plays a major sociocultural role for the Bamana. Present during all the major celebration festivals, its appreciation is based on aesthetic criteria: "it must be beautiful and the dancer talented" (Colleyn, Bamana, 2009, p. 28). Here the inventiveness of the artist asserts itself in the unique formulation of the face, the wide plane of which is animated by the tension of the central ridge and in the network of finely carved scarification, highlighted by a deep patina of use.