Mossi Wood Antelope Headdress, Based

Somewhere in Burkina Faso, a dancer lowers the head and the antelope steps into the crowd.

Mossi people, twentieth century, carved wood and pigment, fifteen inches high and mounted on a black stand. A long smooth snout, painted black and striped in red and white chevrons. A pair of sweeping horns curl back in chalky white. Small red ears, a ring for an eye.

The horns are the drama. The stripes are the argument.

Give it a wall of its own. It will not be shy.