Standing figure ·  Mali, Dogon · ID: 3033587

Description

wood, middle brown patina, encrustations with sacrificial matters, of schematized form, hardly recognizable facial features, min. dam., missing parts (left foot), cracks, slight traces of abrasion, on metal base;
for a comparable figure see: The pleasure of collecting African Art, The Harry Heinemann Collection, Berg en Dal 1986, p. 21, ill. 23).
Many different substances are used for sacrifice: the blood of chickens, sheep and goats slaughtered for this purpose, millet porridge, flour made from the fruits and seeds of the baobab tree etc. These sacrificial materials are looked upon as vehicles for “nyama”, the vital force that determines a person’s mental and physical well-being.

Comparing literature

Galerie Numaga (ed.), Les Tellems et les Dogons, Auvernier 1973, ill. C48