N’tomo mask

Bambara people, Mali

14 inches, stained wood with small red tassels

This is a simple mask used in society rituals, agricultural festivities and to prevent illness. N’tomo masks often have more than just two horns. It was collected in a small village by a volunteer worker in the middle 1990’s. This source believed it to be authentic, but it is more likely a made-for-market piece. The mask is pictured in the catalog Masks From Around the World, Lancaster Museum of Art, 2002.  Antiqued*

$340