Antelope Dance Headdress (Chi Wara)
date: label: Accession Date
content: 28 Aug 1992
label: Collection Date
content: 1986
name: label: Donor Name
content: Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden
notes: label: Notes
content: PROVENIENCE UNDOCUMENTED. IDENTIFICATION PROVIDED BY HMSG. CARVED FROM 1 PIECE, WOODEN DARK-BROWN STYLIZED FIGURE OF 2 ANIMALS W/ BASE IS SCREWED TO A FLAT, RECTANGULAR WOODEN BASE. FIGURE IS OF A STYLIZED ANTELOPE ON TOP OF A STYLIZED 4-LEGGED, LONG-EARED ANIMAL ON A RECTANGULAR BASE W/ CURVED SURFACE W/ 4 PERFORATIONS FOR ATTACHMENT. BOTTOM ANIMAL HAS LEGS BENT AT THE KNEES, EARS POINTING UPWARD, SMALL EYES, AND INCISED BANDS OF LINEAR PATTERN ALL OVER BACK. ANTELOPE IS HUNCHED OVER BACK OF LOWER ANIMAL. EARS & HORNS CURVE BACKWARD. BODY & HORNS ARE DECORATED W/ INCISED LINEAR PATTERN. BOTTOM OF BASE HAS LABEL "S 75." CONDITION: DUSTY BUT GOOD OVERALL. CHI'WARA, OR ANTELOPE HEADDRESSES, ARE NORMALLY CARVED IN PAIRS OF 1 MALE AND 1 FEMALE. THESE HEADDRESSES ALLUDED TO SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTION. THE MALE IS USUALLY IDENTIFIED W/ A MANE & REPRESENTS THE SUN. HE'S SOMETIMES PAIRED W/ A STYLIZED AARDVARK, AN ANIMAL ALSO LINKED TO SOLAR SYMBOLISM. (P.92, AFRICAN ART IN MOTION BY ROBERT FARRIS THOMPSON, U OF CALIFORNIA PRESS 1974).
label: Record Last Modified
content: 6 May 2024
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Not Given, Mali (not certain), Africa (not certain)
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Bamana (Bambara) (?)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 370312
label: USNM Number
content: E428225-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Headdress
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 44 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 27 cm
label: Height - W/base
content: 7 cm