Figural fragment
Mali, Dogon
sold
EUR 3,200
Provenance
Carlo von Castelberg, Zurich, SwitzerlandZemanek-Münster Würzburg, 10. September 1994, lot 24
Udo Petry, Hohnhorst, Germany
Size
H: 39,5 cm
H: 15.6 inch
Description
wood, black encrusted patina, sacrificial patina, helmet-shaped head with crested coiffure and a rectangular deepened facial plane, both hands held in front of the body, slightly dam., cracks (belly, beard), block-like socle;
because of the arrangement of arms and hands, as well as the posture as a whole, it can be assumed, that the figure originally was depicted as an equestrian. Such 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.