Bambara Kono Society Headdress, Based

Two horns, a long muzzle, and a surface that keeps its own counsel.

This Kono society headdress comes from the Bambara peoples of Mali, West Africa, 20th century, in carved wood with organic material, and it is mounted on a base. Kono is one of the initiation societies of the Bambara, and its masks are known for their thick, encrusted surfaces. Here two blunt horns rise from a broad head, which narrows to a tubular snout with an open end. A squared opening pierces the muzzle. The crust is dark and cracked, with paler patches showing through. Twenty-four inches high.

Pretty was never the assignment.