Standing female figure ·  Mali, Dogon-Tomo kä, Seno-Gondo Plain · ID: 3040711

Description

wood, rich blackish brown patina, two strings of white glass beads, helmet-shaped head with crested coiffure and c-shaped ears, facial plane compressed on a small area, round eyes with metal framing, prominent breasts, overlong arms with “hanging” hands, slightly dam., missing parts (crested coiffure, left ear, toes), fine cracks, abrasion of paint, plate;
figures of this type are called “dege dal nda”, “sculptures of the terrace”, and are stored in the house of the “hogon”. They are taken out of storage for the funerals of rich men and dressed and displayed on the rooftop terrace of the deceased. Instead of sacrificial coatings of dried blood and millet porridge, the figures in this group tend to be covered with a thin layer said to consist of tree sap, soot and oil.

Comparing literature

Ezra, Kate, Art of the Dogon, New York 1988, p. 52