Staff finial

Object Details

Bamana artist

Label Text

Presenting only the essentials of the form, a Bamana blacksmith created this minimal image of a horse and rider, elegant in its stylization and simplification. In Mali, iron ore has been smelted and forged since the end of the first millennium B.C. Blacksmiths of the region still forge iron using techniques developed centuries ago. When heated, iron can be hammered into any desired shape. It hardens into a permanent form as it cools. Smiths are regarded as extraordinary for their ability to transform raw iron into tools, weapons and ritual objects.

This sculpture was once part of a longer iron staff. The horse and female rider suggest the rank and power of the chief and the importance of his family. The rider wears a hat like those worn by other important persons: hunters, ritual specialists and the praise singers or historians known as griots. The portrayal of a female rider recalls those Mande women who have acquired power and earned respect through force of character or ability as a sorcerer and are affiliated with hunters' associations. The horse suggests the powerful cavalry of the Bamana kingdoms. Such staffs were displayed on special occasions to commemorate ancestors or placed near areas sacred to initiation associations such as Jo. It was probably used as a marker for a chief's burial.

Description

Iron staff finial composed of a female figure with flat, conical hat sits astride a horse on a curved saddle. The shaft of the staff is cut off just below the level of the horse's hooves.

Provenance

J.J. Klejman, New York, 1963

Joseph H. Hirshhorn, Greenwich, Connecticut, 1963 to 1966

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1966 to 1985

Exhibition History

Heroes: Principles of African Greatness, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 16, 2019–October 3, 2021

Icons: Ideals and Power in the Art of Africa, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 25, 1989-September 3, 1990

Published References

Cole, Herbert. 1989. Icons: Ideals and Power in the Art of Africa. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, p. 48, no. 53.

National Museum of African Art. 1999. Selected Works from the Collection of the National Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 23, no. 7.

Content Statement

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Credit Line

Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn to the Smithsonian Institution in 1966

Early to mid-19th century

Object number

85-19-1

Restrictions & Rights

CC0

Type

Sculpture

Medium

Iron

Dimensions

H x W x D: 24.1 x 5.1 x 18.1 cm (9 1/2 x 2 x 7 1/8 in.)

Geography

Bougouni area, Mali

See more items in

National Museum of African Art Collection

National Museum of African Art

Topic

Funerary

Commemorative

Initiation

Leadership

Status

equestrian

horse

male

female

Record ID

nmafa_85-19-1

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7e70e07a3-58de-4ede-8629-13830021f767