Antique Important Bambara Kore Hyena Wood Mask

Details

Description

An important and powerfully sculptural antique Bambara (Bamana) Suruku, or hyena, mask from Mali, associated with the traditional Kore initiation … Read more An important and powerfully sculptural antique Bambara (Bamana) Suruku, or hyena, mask from Mali, associated with the traditional Kore initiation society. Hand-carved from wood, the mask features an elongated silhouette with dramatically rising pointed ears, a broad projecting brow and squared muzzle, and deeply recessed facial openings. Its richly aged surface displays an extraordinary accumulation of dark brown and warm ochre patination, weathered pigment, and areas of natural encrustation, revealing the character and history of its use. The mask's mouth is particularly remarkable, retaining fragments of genuine animal teeth set within an intricately woven fiber structure, lending the sculptural form an unusually visceral, lifelike quality and offering a fascinating glimpse into its original construction. Within Bambara tradition, the hyena holds a complex place in the symbolic world of the Kore society, where it represents one of the animal groups associated with male initiation and the transition into adulthood. Often regarded as an unsettling and formidable creature of the wilderness, the hyena is also associated with hidden knowledge, cunning, and the mysteries of the natural and spiritual worlds. In Kore ceremonies, hyena masks were worn by initiates known as the Surukuw, and have been interpreted as representing the initiates' progression toward greater understanding and mastery of secret knowledge. The hyena also played a role in protecting the secrecy of ritual proceedings from the uninitiated. An exceptional example of traditional West African sculptural art, distinguished by its commanding proportions and remarkable surface character, and documented collection history. Provenance: Phillip & Marjorie Oderberg Collection, 1985; previously in the collection of Jack Martin, 1950. See less