Mali was the country where my brother in law and his wife did work until 1988. They bought, at the Centre Artinasat in Bamako, the first set you see here as a gift for me and a similar one for themselves.
According Plain/III 2021 are these sets made in Sierra Leone by the Mende tribe. The queen has the characteristic high hair dress of the Creole women, a minority in Sierra Leone. An example can be seen at the Sierra Leone page. I think these sets could also have been made by the Bambara in Mali. The Knight could be the "Chiwara", which is said to have taught humanity agriculture and provided the first grain. Usually it is depicted as antelope with 2 long graceful horns, but here there is only 1 horn.
- Mali, Bamako, Centre Artisanat
- 1988
- Paduk + ebony K 11.4; p 6.0
Mali or Burkina Faso. This cast bronze set has been made with the so called "cire-perdue" method from ship-generated waste. According Munger/I 1996 are these sets stimulated by the colourful iron Burkina Faso sets. The Knight is the "Chiwara", usually depicted as antelope with 2 long graceful horns, which is said to have taught humanity agriculture and provided the first grain to the Bambara in Mali. The itinerant Hausa does trade the sets, which is the reason that not always a precise origin can be determined. I have a similar set listed at the Burkina Faso page.
- Mali
- 1997
- Bronze K 7.1; R 9.7; p 4.9
- Note that a similar set can be found at Burkina Faso page