This old ancestral figure captivates through its extremely fine carvings, if you observe the fine hairstyle with the braids running together on the head and its infinitely beautiful posture of arms and legs.
The toes which once jut out over the base have been knocked off a long time ago – otherwise this antique piece is undamaged. Nearly all age related attributes like termite muck and the weather patina are to be seen as an increase in the value of the piece.
The Dogon today number 250.000 people and have lived since the 14th century on a giant high plateau in Mali, where different carving styles have been established in different parts of the region. They all can be attributed to the Tellem and Niongom art, two primitive people from this region
Dogon figures stand in close contact to the ancestral cult of these tribes. They are mostly used in family settings and are of an artistically high level. Long, fine worked on faces, the same fine bodies and extremities, which either hang to the side of the body or stretch out above the head, combined with exceedingly buxom designed sexual characteristics. |
