Ceremonial Mask of Kono, Bambara, wood carving

Mali, carved wood with thick crusty patina, horn wire.
Head animal geometric stylization, two horns subject has holes through wire.
Uses in initiation rites, these masks are seen by the grantee, are among the most sacred objects of Bambara culture. The kono is left unclear as his identity is kept secret (the same pronunciation of the word is prohibited.
Ramasse by its current owner at the scene of an initiation rite abandoned, on the savannah in the 1950s.