Bankoni terracota head - Figura - Mali

"Terracotta Funerary Head. Bankoni Culture "
Archaeological object, probably with a funerary function. The first sculptures of the Bankoni style were studied in the 1940s (by Théodore Monod among others) in Bankoni south of Bamako. From 1974, this art was studied, and excavations allowed their dating, between the 13th and 15th centuries. (Period of the Mandingo Empire). The style named in reference to the eponymous archaeological site includes several localities in the immediate periphery (Dioila, Mbela....), and further north of the Niger River. They are sometimes confused with the terracotta of the Bura civilization. They correspond to a prosperous economic period linked to trans-Saharan trade, a hinge between the nomadic world and the sedentary world. The caravans that crossed the desert to Timbuktu, exchanged slaves and gold for salt. These transit cities then experienced significant development. Found mainly in domestic contexts, these statuettes may be representatives of divinities, ancestors, used in the context of the foundation of a house or domestic cults.

Provenance: Majestic Gallery, Paris