Dogon Bronze Standing Figure, Based

Beads at his shoulders and a beard on his chin.

Figures like this were set on Dogon family and community altars, where they took part in offerings to ancestors and spirits. This one was cast in bronze in Mali in the 20th century and is six inches tall. The arms are held slightly apart, hands meeting the hips. A tall crested coiffure tops a long face with a beard, and a heavy collar of raised beads lies across the shoulders. The torso is lean and the legs straight.

A rough, dark gray-brown patina, lightened in places by dusty deposits, gives the surface a strong, aged texture.

Altars do not run on quiet. He supplies it.