Tribal Art

Dogon statue (N° 23094)

Figure of an ancestor represented naked, kneeling on a circular flat surface. The head offers a chiseled crest, the face has slanted eyes accentuating the arrow shape of the nose. Pursed lips give a determined and concentrated physiognomy. Long, slender limbs are adorned with bracelets, the body marked with fine scarified motifs, the buttocks rest on very long feet.
Interesting speckled red ochre, blackish patina and light pigments.
Desication cracks.
Carved for the most part on order placed by a family, 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, ancestor worship 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.