Figural fragment
Click here to view a larger version of the imageLot: 146
84th Tribal Art AuctionFigural fragment
Mali, Dogon
Provenance | Size | Starting price / estimated price |
---|---|---|
Ladislas Segy, New York, USA | H: 14.8 inch | This object is not available anymore. |
wood, blackish brown sacrificial patina, strong encrusted in some areas, overlong slender trunk, both arms missing, just the hands preserved which are both held in a protective way in front of the stomach, smooth facial features "overmodelled" with mass, base;
present figure most likely belonged to a female society and was used for the education of young girls. Such figures were displayed on funerals and presumably on certain fertility and rain-making rituals as well. They were called "so-ma-so" ("listen to me"), a sentence effective for education and for prayers for fertility as well.
Schmidt, Johann-Karl (Hg.), Dogon, Stuttgart 1998, p. 107