FEATURE 114 acquired in 1930 from a Parisian dealer named André Delcourt and was most likely acquired because of the aforementioned museum visit in Berlin (fi g. 6, visible at the right of the image). The brief description Kjersmeier wrote on its object record card reads: “Bamana24 Dance Crest, French Sudan, H. 52 cm. (without stand). Delcourt, Paris, 1930.”25 This particular dance crest has obvious affi nities with another from the collection illustrated here as fi gure 16, as well as the one illustrated by Maria Kecskési in her recent article on pangolins,26 the latter collected in 1931 by the Dakar-Djibouti Expedition. All three are so nearly identical in form, composition, use of color, and carving technique that it is tempting to speculate that they were created by the same unknown hand. A rare look into the Kjersmeiers’ home recently came to light in the archives at the Nationalmuseet in the form of a small number of early color photos on glass plates (fi gs. 5 and 6). They show different views of the apartment interior with the collection in place. One of them depicts Kjersmeier’s desk, on which the abovementioned dance crest stands. The photographs have no dates or documentary information associated with them, but the presence of the Luba Shankadi headrest acquired in 1936 coupled with the absence of certain other objects indicates that they were taken shortly after that object was purchased. Dance crests from West Africa, especially Mali, occur in a number of different variations, sizes, and types. They were attached to a small basketry headdress that was secured to the wearer’s head during performances. The type Kjersmeier admired, collected, and referred to as sogoni koun antelope dance crests comes from the Bamana agricultural societies in Mali and probably are the most complicated and complex examples of the genre. Their typology and use have been described by several researchers on the subject.27 The morphology of these dance crests references not just a single antelope but rather a composite of three animals. The bottom part, closest to the wearer’s head, is an anteater with bent legs, on whose back stands a pangolin with scales and a curved tail. The head of the pangolin transforms into that of a roan antelope, with its ears and long FIG. 16 (above): Dance crest, sogoni koun. Bamana, Mali or Burkina Faso. Wood, red and black pigments. H: 43.5 cm. Collected in situ, French Sudan, 1931–32. Ex Kjersmeier Collection; Lau Sunde, Copenhagen; E. Lauritzen, 1971. Private collection. FIG. 15 (below): Dance crest, sogoni koun. Bamana, Burkina Faso. Wood, red fi ber. H: 55.9 cm. Collected in situ, Sulubua, 1931–32. Ex Kjersmeier Collection; Lau Sunde, Copenhagen; Steen Strömberg; Ole Christensen; Sotheby´s, New York, May 19, 2000. Photo © Sotheby´s.
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