Tribal Art

Prestigious sculptures in the African art of Mali
This wooden sculpture depicts an indeterminate animal on which is perched a subject treated in a very schematic way. According to Gabriel Massa, only wealthy people can order this type of prestigious, rare sculpture from the blacksmith, intended for individual worship.
Old grainy patina, and desication cracks.
The frequent representations of riders among the Dogon of Mali refer to their cosmogony and their complex religious myths. Indeed, one of the Nommos, ancestors of men, resuscitated by the creator god Amma, descended to earth carried by an ark transformed into a horse. In addition, the highest authority of the Dogon people, the religious leader named Hogon, paraded on his mount during his enthronement because according to custom he was not to set foot on the ground. In the region of the cliffs of Sangha, inaccessible on horseback, the priests wore it, while neighing in reference to the mythical ancestor Nommo.