Bambara Forged Iron Equestrian Figure

Strip a horse and rider down to what matters and you get this.

The Bambara of Mali count their blacksmiths in high regard, often associated with special knowledge, and the iron they shaped went to shrines and other important uses. Here the rider is a single vertical bar with a flattened head, holding something out in front. The horse has four straight legs, a broad curved neck, an open jaw, and a paddle-shaped tail that sweeps toward the ground. Forged iron, 20th century.

The surface is rust-orange and crusted. Nothing here is ornament. Everything is line.