Bambara Mask Depicting Bull, Based

A small figure stands between the horns, entirely unbothered by what he is standing on.

This mask depicting a bull, mounted on a base, is Bambara work from Mali, West Africa, carved from wood in the 20th century. Among the Bambara, initiation associations have long used animal masks in performance, drawing on the strength and character of the creatures shown to teach and to protect the community. The long, smooth face tapers to a blunt muzzle. Tall curved horns rise overhead, with pointed ears below them. The dark brown surface has a soft gloss and a long crack. Twenty-eight inches high.

One assumes the arrangement suits them both.