Tribal Art

Dogon statue (N° 22740)

br>This sculpture depicting mythical protective beings would form the primordial couple, associated with the Nommos, at the origin of Dogon creation.
Their morphology is characteristic of the central part of the Bandiagara cliff, bombou-toro. The narrow faces topped with crests surmount the rectangular block of the shoulders.
The slender arms frame a long bust, while slender legs extend from slender feet resting on the discoid base.

Dark matte patina, eroded surface and desication cracks.


Sculpted for the most part on order placed by a family, the Dogon statues can also be the object of worship on the part of the whole community when they commemorate, for example, the foundation of the village. However, their functions remain little known. Alongside Islam, Dogon religious rites are organized around four main cults: the Lébé, relating to fertility, under the spiritual authority of the Hogon, the Wagem, cult of the ancestors under the authority of the patriarch, the Binou invoking the spirit world and led by the priest of the Binou, and the society of masks concerning the funeral.