Dogon Equestrian Figure, Mali

Rank and authority, reduced to rods and a box. The Dogon rider needs nothing else.

This early 20th-century equestrian figure comes from Mali, where horse and rider long signified rank and authority. Metal riders on this scale were kept on shrines or among a person’s own possessions. The horse is a long, box-like frame on four straight, rod-like legs, its neck ribbed with spiraling grooves and its head bent down. The rider sits with one leg along the horse’s side and crested head held high, gripping a twisted chain rein that runs to the horse’s mouth. Rusty brown deposits fill the recesses of the dark metal.

Five inches tall. Linear, and sure of its route.