Head for a Body Puppet
| Artist | Yankoro Konate (?) |
|---|---|
| Culture | Bamana |
| Title | Head for a Body Puppet |
| Date | 1930–1935 |
| Medium | Wood, brass, cloth, and and metal |
| Dimensions | Object: 56 7/8 × 19 15/16 × 9 5/8 in. (144.5 × 50.6 × 24.4 cm) Overall (includes mount): 60 × 19 15/16 × 9 5/8 in. (152.4 × 50.6 × 24.4 cm) |
| Credit Line | Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 77.87 |
| This artwork is currently on view. | |
Headdress with heads emerging upward in a fractal-like pattern from the head of a female figure. The central female figure at the bottom has a large head, long neck, an armless body with prominent pointed breasts, and short legs curving outward.
Associated with puppet performances in central Mali that are put on by youth associations as both entertainment and commentaries on social and political life, this head of a puppet represents a female character known as Yan Ka Di, “this place is good,” identified by the janus-faced head out of which additional female heads appear. A cloth costume and wooden hands, manipulated by the puppeteer, would have completed the puppet. During the colonial period, Yan Ka Di frequently appeared in performances, and, though the character is not frequently performed today, it is made for sale to tourists, among whom it is still popular.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
Request this image
The Eskenazi Museum of Art provides images of its collection, free of charge, upon request.
This artwork is under copyright protection. You can request the image and it will be emailed to you when the request is complete.
Cite this page
"Head for a Body Puppet | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=77.87