Object Name: Bamana Elephant Puppet Masks
(Sama Kun)
Place of Origin: Mali
Cultural Group: Bamana peoples
Materials Used: Wood, rubber, cloth, nails, string
Dimensions: L: 73.0 cm, W: 28.5 cm, H: 30.0 cm (L: 28.7 in, W: 11.2 in, H: 11.8 in)
Credit Line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Promised gift of Jerome L. Joss. X89.59

Bamana elephant puppet-masks, sama kun, are often painted in bold triangular and striped patterns. Added human and bird figures act to energize the basic form. Such embellishments are intended solely to heighten the visual appeal of the sculpture and to provoke a positive aesthetiic response from the audience.

Source: Ross, Doran H. (1992). “Elephant: The Animal and Its Ivory in African Culture”, Los Angeles, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. page 107