Bamana Ntomo Mask from Mali
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A Bamana Ntomo mask, Mali. The Bamana, also known as the Bambara people use masks for a multitude of occasions such as weddings, births, harvest seasons, and death. Banama masks are also used in masquerades for the various initiations that all male Bamana must enter into. This mask is used in the Ntomo society, which is the first society a male will enter in to. The mask has anthropo-zoomorphic face made up of geometric forms and clean lines. At the top of the head are stylised horns that have sheets of serated metal nailed to the length. The face is long and pointed as is characterisically a Bamana style. A descreet mouth below the long and thin nose represents the virtues of silence. The age of this mask is evident in the deeply encrusted craquelure patina, and its significance is also noted by the metal nail repair to the back. On custom wooden stand. Mask length 35.5 cm, width 18 cm, depth 12 cm, on stand height 49.5 cm. Provenance: Lim-Strutt collection, Aotearoa
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- Patination / Patina - In broad terms, patination refers to the exterior surface appearance of the timber, the effect of fading caused by exposure to sunlight and air over the course of a century or more, changing the piece to a soft, mellow colour.
As patina is very difficult to replicate, it is one of the most important guides to determining the age of furniture.
Patina is also the term applied to the bloom or film found on old bronzes due to oxidisation.
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