– 139 –
This mask, with its elegant, time-worn
contours, depicts a stylized antelope
with slender horns and delicate ears.
It bears heavy traces of weathering,
suggesting prolonged use in ritual
contexts and storage in a sanctuary
or cave.
Between the 11th and 16th centuries
AD, the Tellem inhabited the Bandia-
gara Escarpment until, around the
14th century, they were displaced by
the Dogon, who had migrated from
the west. The Tellem dwellings, built
high into the inaccessible cliff faces
of the Bandiagara Escarpment, were
repurposed by the Dogon as sacred
sites, burial places, and storage for
ritual masks and figures.
H: 42 cm
Provenance
Paolo Morigi, Magliaso-Lugano, Swit-
zerland (1986)
Steven van de Raadt & Kathy van der
Pas, Rotterdam (1993)
Blanchet & Associés, Paris, France, 23
November 2004, lot 151
Olivier Castellano, Paris, France
Publ. in
Arts d‘Afrique Noire, no. 59, 1986
(Morigi advertisement); Steven van
de Raadt & Kathy van der Pas, „Art
from Mali“, Rotterdam, May 1993:#3
AHDRC: 0005880
€ 3.500 - 7.000
Lot 243