Torso of a female figure
Mali, Dogon, Nduleri
not available anymore
Provenance
Marcel Florkin (1900-1979), Liège, BelgiumSize
H. 39 cm
H. 15.4 inch
Description
wood, dark brown, oily patina in parts, fragmentary, abrasion of paint, base;
present figure most likely belonged to a female society and was used for the education of young girls. Such figures were displayed on funerals and presumably on certain fertility and rain-making rituals as well. They were called “so-ma-so” (“listen to me”), a sentence effective for education and for prayers for fertility as well.