A mother and child figure of the Dogon people who live in the cliff villages and on the plateau of the Bandiagara mountains in the east of Mali. The present maternity figure is made of hard wood and stands on a round base carved out from the same piece. She holds her child with both arms and hands, which are carved free, on the left side of her body. The mother displays a lizard on the middle of her head and a braid on both sides of her slender face, in front of her ears. She has protruding eyes, a small, pointed mouth and a narrow, arrow shaped nose, as well as three decorative scarification marks on each cheek. On her body she wears a necklace from which a row of protective amulets hang. She also has three bracelets on both arms, as well as a loincloth.
An old sculpture with some cracks on the head, body and base, as well as noticeable traces of frequent sacrificial offerings (with millet gruel, beer and other ‘fortifying’ substances), as well as a good, dark, shiny patina due to years of use. Height: 53 cm. First third of the 20th century or earlier. (ME)

Provenance:
German private collection.

Lit.:
'Dogon' by Hélène Leloup, Musée du Quai Branly Paris, ill. 40, p. 352, ill. 12, 13; 'Art of the Dogon, Selections from the Lester Wunderman Collection' by Kate Ezra, The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, ill. 8, 9.