African Arts Gallery

This mask extended from a long narrow face has a rectangular nose overhanging protruding lips. The front offers zoomorphic elements. Metal veneers, streaked with decorative designs, are usually nailed to the surface. Matte brown patina, small accidents, missing (end of the ear).
In African art, the Marka, Maraka in Bamana, Warka, or even Sarakolé, are Muslim city dwellers of Soninke origin, established in the south of Niger, scattered since the end of the Ghana Empire in Mali, Mauritania and Senegal . They now speak Bamana and have adopted many of the Bambara traditions, such as the Ntomo and the Koré, initiation societies which used masks during their ceremonies. Bambara and Marka African art sculptors are part of the Numuw, who are not linked to an ethnic group and are free to establish themselves wherever they wish.