Featured Kurumbe headdress? Curved horns question.

It looks very much like a Kurumbe headdress to me, yet I can't find a single example with the long curled horns like this.

The antelope masks seen in ceremonies and every auction I could find have the same straight horns.

Now I figure it's either because I don't know the correct term of what it actually is and can't find it.
Or it's a non-traditional mimic for tourists.
Or it's genuine yet rare enough to not be pictured online yet.

I'm very curious and if someone could tell me more about it that would be greatly appreciated.
All I know is that it was last sold in the Netherlands in 1974.

 

Welcome @CuriousityRover .
It looks the style, but I have never seen them this decorated. May not be traditional, but it is nice.
I am no expert, but I will tag someone who is: @2manybooks .

Btw, very nice of you to feed it.

 

Thank you @Any Jewelry such a warm welcome!
And lol, felt like it could use a snack.

After digging through hundreds of pages on africartmarket it seems like a combination of the Kurumbe antelope mask with the horns I see with the Bobo tribe.

Looking forward to the experts insights.

 

Welcome @CuriousityRover.

Can you please post some detail views of the base of your antelope? The style changed over time from a mask that was worn over the face to one worn as a headdress. In particular, I would like to see if there are any holes on the base indicating any method of attachments, or other signs of use. That may help determine if it may be a (well done) tourist piece or actually made for use.

Other groups in Burkina Faso and in neighboring Mali make various types of antelope masks, some with their horns curving backward. Your are right to notice, however, that this is not common with Kurumba adoné headdresses. I have not yet found another example.

But as Esther Dagan explains in a 1987 gallery exhibition catalog -


Esther A. Dagan: Man and His Vision: The Traditional Wood Sculpture of Burkina Faso
Galerie Amrad African Arts.

(Please excuse the weird sizing - I was trying to save typing out the whole quote.)

 

Ooh, thanks, very interesting.
Since it's 50+ years old and not super conventional for the Kurumba, it's more likely to be intended as a souvenir?

Here are some pictures from all around the base.

It looks similar to the ones in action in the last image.
How did they attach them?

 

looks like it was sold before it was rigged to dance with...

So , not danced , and most likely made for sale to the tourist market..... but still a fine example . imo

 

Yeah, Occam's razor sliced with ease through my last sliver of hope of it being some legendary forgotten artifact

Still a nice piece of art, culture, craft and history.
And a lot less stressful to mount on the wall now.

 

I would agree with @komokwa that it has not been used. Here is one quite similar to yours (except for the horns). Note the holes along the lower back edge, which would have been used to tie the headdress onto a cap/framework that would have been worn on the dancer's head


http://artcollection.drury.edu/items/show/1417

And this one, which has part of the headgear attached -

https://collection.artbma.org/objects/24079/antelope-headdress-adone

How did you determine yours was "50+ years old"? Older (ca 1st half of the 20th cen.) Kurumba adoné figures were painted in traditional colors of white, black, and variations of red/brown/yellow. Blue, such as is used on your piece, seems to be a later innovation(2nd half of the 20th cen. or later).

 

Ooh, now we have a mystery.

It was gifted to me by a widow in her 80's.
All the info I got with it was written on the back of a picture of the artwork for insurance reasons.

Roughly translated:

Attachable mask.
Kurumba, upper Volta.
Brown colored wood
Mostly covered in geometric motives in black, redish brown, ocheryellow, broken white.
Decorated with seashells
Height 95, width 66 (July 9th 1974)
f 1000,-
______________

The picture doesn't seem to show the blue and the note doesn't mention it.
It looks more crisp and less colorful.
She was a kindergarten teacher, happy little accidents happen?
Of course they could have made some details up, but I'd say its very plausible.
I'd guess the picture was taken somewhere mid 80's to late 90's.

 

If she valued the piece enough to have it insured, it seems she would not have allowed a child to play with or paint it, if that is what you are suggesting. Different photographic lighting and different films can make colors appear less accurate. (Note the difference in the blue areas in the first photos you posted here and the ones you posted later.)

But the inaccurate written description is more problematic. The only thing I might suggest is that whoever assigned the insurance value might have been working from a photograph such as the one you have, and did not examine the object itself.

It does seem to have suffered noticeable changes since the earlier photograph was taken, possibly due the conditions of display or storage.

Do you know anything about the history of the woman who gave it to you, and what her connection to Burkina Faso (previously Upper Volta) might have been?

 

Yes, you're right about the blue.

Her husband wrote it down, and I assume the price and date are what he paid for it instead of a real taxation?

The house is both filled with African art and deeply religious pieces,
She's still very charitable and lives inexplicably nice for a retired teacher.
I've only heard he was an eccentric man.
Some missionary or charity connection is very possible.

So if it was pretty recently made when he bought it in 74 the color blue is plausible whilst being 51 years ago, right?

I can ask tomorrow about the connection with Burkina Faso.

 

@2manybooks
She and her husband were regular visitors of the museum of land en volkenkunde, which is now called wereldmuseum Rotterdam.
So much so they befriended a conservator that was delighted to see young people being interested in the art.
From there on they occasionally bought something.

I choose to believe her story is legit and I didn't ask critical questions considering the age or authenticity, that would be rude.

 

They have this one in their collection.
'Obtaining journey' April 21 1969
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11840/1132650

Trying to find out more about what this 'obtaining journey' meant.

 

Verzamelreis = collecting journey or trip.
So it was acquired during a trip to Burkina Faso/Western Sudan which had the specific purpose of collecting pieces for the museum or for a private collection.

I have known a few museum curators who went on such trips for their museum. They usually bought some things for their own collection as well, which is how I got to know them (and buy from them).

 

I have no reason to doubt it.
Quite a few Dutch ethnographic museums, especially the smaller ones like Rotterdam, used to hold exhibitions from which people could buy items. I bought a few items in the 70s from such exhibitions.

The Rotterdam 'Museum van land en volkenkunde' was one of my favourites, btw.

 

This is invaluable information, and gives you an important direction to pursue. The value/significance of any ethnographic object is greatly enhanced by establishing a history/provenance for the piece. While the couple may not have more specific information, Rotterdam Wereld Museum may be able to tell you more.

For example, they have much of their collection online and I was able to find 3 other examples of Kurumba adoné headdresses held by the museum, with a bit of information about when they were acquired -

purchase (aankoop) 1964-09-09

https://collectie.wereldmuseum.nl/#/query/f00dac64-dd43-4ed4-a723-e57fc960048c

before (voor) 1970

https://collectie.wereldmuseum.nl/#/query/a166e3f1-d42b-43c7-a13a-4c66239b9412

before (voor) 1971

https://collectie.wereldmuseum.nl/#/query/6aaa7dc0-2281-4a83-a248-987aa3320524

Looking at other objects in the collection from Burkina Faso, the Museum seems to have been actively collecting from the region during the 1960s and 1970s.

https://collectie.wereldmuseum.nl/#/query/9b0837b9-7b57-4f41-9534-829a4e0fa0ea

Perhaps if you contact the museum they may be able to explain the circumstances under which your headdress would have been sold, and provide additional information about how it was originally collected.

 

Just an aside, when researching ethnographic objects such as this it is always good to keep in mind the changes in tribal and regional names that might be applicable - in this case, the evolution from French or Western Sudan to Upper Volta to Burkina Faso.

 

First and foremost thank you all for the valuable information!

I've sent an email to someone who has a long history with Kurumba masks and I'm trying to find a way to contact the museum Rotterdam, but so far no luck.
It's FAQ says they don't taxate, and I only want information, but I could see that they would receive hundreds of emails of people asking questions if they let them.

If I find something interesting I'll share it.
So far the story of this mask is a sweet one, and I've learned a lot about it.

 

It usually works best if you can contact a specific individual at the Museum. It looks like the current Curator for the African collections at the Wereldmuseum Rotterdam is Dr. Annette Schmidt -

https://www.materialculture.nl/en/about/annette-schmidt

That page also includes an email address for the department, the Research Center for Material Culture -

rcmc@wereldculturen.nl

You might also try sending a letter to her, care of the Museum.

When you contact them, provide all the information you have, particularly what you have found out about the connection to the Rotterdam Museum and the approximate date that the woman acquired it. An answer will probably require some research into 50+ year old records, so you want to give them whatever information could make the search easier. If possible, you might also include good photographs of your piece.

 

@2manybooks
Omg, wow, you're the best!
Thanks, will contact them.