Standing female figure · Mali, Dogon · ID: 3051092
Erwin & Susanne Melchardt, Vienna, Austria
Description
wood, heavily encrusted patina, base
Dogon figurative sculpture was created for shrines. The figures were placed on personal altars, ancestral altars, in “binu” sanctuaries, on altars dedicated to “Nommo” and on “yaupilu” shrines, which are dedicated to the souls of women who died in pregancy or childbirth.
The figures serve as intermediaries between people and a variety of spirit beings, deities and ancestors (“vageu”). They are the locus of prayer and are coated and doused with sacrificial materials. These are vehicles for “nyama”, the vital force that determines a person’s mental and physical well-being.
The object Standing female figure with the object ID 3051092 was last part of the auction Auction 103 at November 16, 2024 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 359.
You can find more Figures and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.