Standing figure with headdress "dege"
Mali, Dogon
sold
EUR 8,000
Provenance
René Rasmussen, Paris, France (1952)Hans Hess, Basel, Switzerland (1959)
Eduard Hess, Oberwil, Switzerland (1968)
Size
H: 45,5 cm
H: 17.9 inch
Description
wood, coated with a thick layer of ritual red patina, slender body with overlong arms and accentuated breast, the facial plane marked by notches, the projecting navel framed by diamond-shaped tattoos, shield-shaped crest with grooved pattern, slightly dam., minor missing parts, abrasion of paint, cracks (base), on plate;
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.