Helmet (Sigi Kun)
Mid-19th to mid-20th century
Bamana Mali Northern Africa and the Sahel
Mali
The style and incised surface designs of the standing female figure at the center of this helmet suggest that it was made by a Bamana artist. Echoing those of buffalo, the framing horns fit within a visual theme that is widespread in West Africa, referencing ideas of male power, authority, and prestige. Among the Bamana and other Mande-language speakers, such helmets were called sigi kun (buffalo head) and used by hunters’ associations.
Wood and pigment