Ceremonial container · Mali, Dogon · ID: 3038138
Emerson Woelffer, Los Angeles, USA (1960)
Michel Gaud, Saint Tropez, France
Description
wood, dark brown patina, bellied vessel with lid and incised decor resting on a round base and four struts, crowned by an equestrian figure, min. dam., traces of insect caused damage, fine cracks, slight traces of abrasion;
Dogon equestrian figures are most often identified as images of the “hogon”, since in Dogon society horses are a luxury generally reserved for rich and powerful people. Horses occur in Dogon beliefs about the creation of the world. Containers like the present were not used in everyday life. They were rather used at enthronement festivities of the “hogon”, where they served for food offerings.
The object Ceremonial container with the object ID 3038138 was last part of the auction 79th Tribal Art Auction at March 21, 2015 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 144.
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Comparing literature
Chemeche, George, The Horse Rider in African Art, Suffolk 2011, p. 58 f. Leloup, Hélène, Dogon, Paris 2011, p. 312 f.
Publications
Byrnes, James B., The Artist as Collector, California 1975, p. 54, fig. 33