Figural fragment ·  Mali, Dogon · ID: 3034351

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.