Online catalogue for the 60th tribal art auction
61 Female figure
This object is not available any more.
Mali, Dogon
wood, dark brown patina, encrusted in some areas, abstract figure with slender and closed contours, both hands resting below the tapering abdomen, a columnar neck supporting a spherical head with crested coiffure and a beak-like tapering chin, unmarked facial features, slightly dam., cracks (left face half, breast), missing parts because of insect caused damage (left leg, base, above all backside), on block-like mount; these figures belong to female societies and were used for the education of young girls. They were displayed on funerals and presumably on certain fertility and rain-making rituals as well. According to H. Leloup they were called "so-ma-so" ("listen to me"), a sentence effective for education and for prayers for fertility as well. The bulging abdomen and the protective gesture of the hands refer to the depiction of a pregnant woman. According to G. Dieterlen figures with such a posture were used on altars intended for rituals dedicated to the souls of women who died while pregnant. Among the Dogon, a woman who has died during pregnancy or childbirth is never buried in the cemetery of her lineage, nor is a funerary pot ever placed in the family sanctuary for her. Her soul is banished and left to wander. However, a cult is established for her by a powerful healer, who is responsible for the altar mentioned above. It is generally located in a shelter or cave in the bush, away from the village. The statue is placed next to a pottery jar filled with water in which purifying or medicinal plants have been steeped. Women offer the cult leader animals to be sacrificed in their names on the altar. Sterility or miscarriage is attributed to the harmful action of the soul of the mythical ancestor who, as a result of the serious violation of a prohibition, was the first to die while pregnant. The offerings and the purifications effected with water from the jar are meant to protect and cure the women concerned.
H: 42,5 cm
H: 16.7 inch
Provenance
Paul Rutten, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Literature
Vogel, Susan, For spirits and kings, African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection, New York 1981, p. 16
Ezra, Kate, Art of the Dogon, Selections from the Lester Wunderman Collection, Metropolitan Museum, New York 1988, ill. 14
Schmidt, Johann-Karl (Hg.), Dogon-Die Meisterwerke der Skulptur, Stuttgart 1998, Nr. 27
Laude, Jean, African Art of the Dogon, New York 1973, ill. 52
Price: 18000 - 35000 €
62 Female figure
This object is not available any more.
Mali, Dogon, Area of Senou
wood, dark brown, partly shiny patina, rising from bent legs with tapering knees, the elongated thin arms up to the head, the hands resting behind the ears, head with delicate scarification marks in the area of the temples and the cheeks, deepened eyes, pierced ears, forehead crest, min. dam., rep. (left leg), slight signs of abrasion, on wooden base; when a member of a clan died, a figure was removed from the ancestral shrine and was placed next to his corpse for a short time in order to absorb a part of the "nyama" or spiritual force of the deceased. Afterwards the spiritually strengthened figure was returned to the shrine, where now sacrifices could be made to obtain and secure health and fecundity. The figure forms a connecting line between the living and the spirits of their ancestors, including the founding father of the clan.
H: 34,5 cm
H: 13.6 inch
Provenance
Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels, Belgium
Literature
Hélene, Leloup, Dogon Statuary, Strassburg 1994, ill. 71
Laude, Jean, African Art of the Dogon, New York 1973, p. 67, ill. 2
Ezra, Kate, Art of the Dogon, Selections from the Lester Wunderman Collection, Metropolitan Museum, New York 1988, p. 21
Price: 15000 - 30000 €
63 Sitting figure
This object is not available any more.
Mali, Dogon
wood, blackish brown encrusted patina, a slender, elongated trunk with closed contours, crowned by a narrow, bearded head, leather strap with wooden pipe around the waist, slightly dam., cracks (right side of the body, back of the head), paint rubbed off, acrylic base; present figure presumably represents a protective spirit, receiving sacrifices from individuals and from the village.
H: 40,5 cm
H: 15.9 inch
Provenance
Ludwig Bretschneider, Munich, Germany
Literature
Roy, Christopher D., Die Dogon von Mali und Ober-Volta, München 1983, p. 14 f.
Price: 3500 - 7000 €
64 Standing figure
Mali, Dogon
light brown wood, mat patina, fragmentary legs carring an elongated trunk, flanked by long arms worked close to the body, crowned by an almost neckless head with tribe-typical facial features, collection number "H8" on the back, min. dam., missing parts (legs), cracks, on metal base
H: 38 cm
H: 15 inch
Price: 1000 - 2000 €
65 Standing figure "dege dal nda"
This object is not available any more.
Mali, Dogon, Area of Wakara
wood, dark brown encrusted patina, the frontal arranged body composed of geometrical forms, high-legged, the knees bent, a trapezoid trunk supporting a flat breast plate, the arms angled, the palms downwards, with the fingertips resting on the thighs, the helmet-shaped bearded face provided with the typical arrow-shaped nose, slightly dam., cracks (back of the head, neck, breast), missing part (right foot tip), the thick clay coating partial abraded or broken, on block-like base; figures of this type are called "dege dal nda", "sculptures of the terrace". They are stored in the house of the "hogon", just taken out of storage for the funerals of rich men and dressed and displayed on the roof top terrace of the deceased.
H: 48 cm
H: 18.9 inch
Provenance
Alexander Pollmer, Munich, Germany
Literature
Schmidt, Johann-Karl (Hg.), Dogon-Die Meisterwerke der Skulptur, Stuttgart 1998, p. 122, Nr. 34
Ezra, Kate, Art of the Dogon, Selections from the Lester Wunderman Collection, Metropolitan Museum, New York 1988, ill. 14
Laude, Jean, African Art of the Dogon, New York 1973, ill. 52
Sold.
66 Standing female figure
Mali, Dogon
wood, reddish brown patina with traces of black paint, encrusted in some areas, the body arranged in geometrical forms, helmet-shaped head with the typical arrow-shaped nose, min. dam. (breasts), crack (head backside and back), missing parts (base), the surface showing traces of weathering and insect caused damage, above all at the leg zone, on base; the bulging abdomen and the protective gesture of the hands refer to the depiction of a pregnant woman. According to G. Dieterlen figures with such a posture were used on altars intended for rituals dedicated to the souls of women who have died during pregnancy or childbirth. Among the Dogon, such a woman is never buried in the cemetery of her lineage, nor is a funerary pot ever placed in the family sanctuary for her. Her soul is banished and left to wander. However, a cult is established for her by a powerful healer, who is responsible for the altar mentioned above.
H: 44,5 cm
H: 17.5 inch
Provenance
Ludwig Bretschneider, Munich, Germany (1983)
Literature
Roy, Christopher D., Die Dogon von Mali und Ober-Volta, München 1983, p. 14 f.
Price: 3800 - 7000 €
67 Standing figure "dege dal nda"
This object is not available any more.
Mali, Dogon
wood, greyish brown encrusted patina, slender, high-towering body with blocklike shoulder/breast area, flanked by long arms, the half-spherical head with crested coiffure and indicated facial features, slightly dam., missing parts (left side of the head and base), on block-like mount
H: 46,5 cm
H: 18.3 inch
Provenance
Hermann Sommerhage, Germersheim, Germany
Price: 3800 - 7000 €
68 Figure with receptacle
This object is not available any more.
Mali, Dogon
wood, reddish brown and dark brown patina, encrusted in some areas, the body consisting of various geometrical forms, the half-spherical bowl provided with flat hammered metal pieces, indicated female sex characteristics, slightly dam., paint rubbed off (breast), on block-like base; the bowl as a symbol for the traditional role of women, whose task is, to provide their man with food. Presumably carved in order of a man/widower who asks his ancestors for sending him a traditional woman.
H: 33 cm, ~ 1800
H: 13 inch, ~ 1800
Provenance
John Tenney, s'Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
Literature
Schmidt, Johann-Karl (Hg.), Dogon-Die Meisterwerke der Skulptur, Stuttgart 1998, p. 96
Price: 5000 - 10000 €
69 Standing female figure
This object is not available any more.
Mali, Dogon
wood, dark brown patina, a high towering slender body, the free carved arms and hands enclosing the upper part of the body like a rectangular frame, thus accentuating the massive breasts, the navel and the female gender, the head showing a crested coiffure, hollowed ears and a protruding Adam's apple, slightly dam., minor missing parts, on metal plate
H: 65 cm
H: 25.6 inch
Sold.
70 Heddle pulley
Mali, Dogon
wood, brown patina, u-shaped corpus, crowned by a small human figure, complete with bobbin (nut), min. dam., slight traces of usage and abrasion, on wooden base
H: 17 cm
H: 6.7 inch
Provenance
Galerie Inge Hett, Berlin, Germany
Price: 700 - 1400 €
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