Bambara Seated Figure with Beaded Hands

Warm brown seated figure with tiny beaded knees and an angular face.

This seated figure with beaded hands in wood and glass is Bambara, from Mali, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. The Bambara, or Bamana, are a Mande-speaking people of Mali known for carved wooden figures, headdresses and masks linked to agricultural and initiation societies. Square-shouldered, front-facing seated figure with a long narrow face, swept-back hair like a crest, and rectangular open arms. Tiny colored beads cover each knee. The golden-brown surface has a smooth polish with darker streaks in the grain. It is 3 inches wide, 3.75 deep and 12.25 high.

Angular and upright, with sparkle in all the right joints.