Standing figure

Description

light wood, encrusted greyish brown patina, genderless, typical posture, mass remains at the belly, dam. (facial features), cracks (left side of the head), missing part (base), base;
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.