Male figure "dege" · Mali, Dogon/Tellem · ID: 3041411
Roy Stacy, Washington D.C., USA (1975)
Description
wood, rich brown patina, with remains of black paint, helmet-shaped head with beard and prominent facial features, v-shaped ornament on the back, fragmentary (both legs missing), minor missing parts (mouth, beard), base;
the Dogon placed male and female figures on altars, which mostly were dedicated to ancestors, either of real or of mythical origin. The figurative sculpture is called “dege” and was used to be poured with ritual liquids. Such sacrificial materials were looked upon as vehicles for “nyama”, the vital force that determines a persons mental and physical well-being and allows a person to live at all.
The object Male figure “dege” with the object ID 3041411 was last part of the auction 84th Tribal Art Auction at November 5, 2016 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 145 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,000.
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