Mask of the Ntomo Bambara cult, Mali c.1990-2000

Mask of the Ntomo cult Bambara, Mali c.1990-2000 Measurements: 79cm high Initially, the Ntomo was a society for uncircumcised boys. There are two main style groups of their masks. One is characterized by an oval face with four to ten horns in a row on top like a comb. The other type has a fluted nose, a protruding mouth, a superstructure of vertical horns, in the middle of which or in front of which is a standing figure or animal. Ntomo masks with thin mouths emphasize the virtue of silence and the importance of controlling speech. This mask is crowned by four horns that symbolize different human characteristics. Exhibitions: 2022 - 2024 - Fuerteventura Island “African Art: Ancestral Light” La Entallada Lighthouse. Fuerteventura Town Hall. 2021 - 2022 - Panama City. Government of Panama. “African Art: the spirit of the ancestors” Ministry of Culture Headquarters. Old Town. 2019 - 2020 - Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Caja Canarias Foundation. “Africa-Babel: the art of a Continent” Headquarters Plaza Patriotismo. 2019 - 2020 - Santa Cruz de La Palma. Caja Canarias Foundation. “Africa-Babel: the art of a Continent.” Casa Massieu. Santa Cruz de la Palma. 2013 - 2015 - Museum of Art of Africa and Oceania (MADAO) La Granja de San Ildefonso, Segovia 2005 --------- “Black Africa” Leather Museum. Vic - Barcelona. 2004 .......... “Black Africa” Caixa Laietana Foundation. Barcelona Main exhibition hall.