Dogon Standing Female Figure

Bent arms, hands together at the belly, a stance that has outlasted fashions.

Cast by the Dogon of Mali in the 20th century, this bronze woman was made by the lost-wax process, the kind of small figure kept for personal and ritual use. She stands nearly five inches tall, with a small rounded head and a crest of hair, a necklace, rounded breasts, a ringed waistband.

Her long legs end in broad, flat feet resting on a V-shaped support that rises from a domed round base. A crusty green patina covers her, with lighter mineral deposits in the recesses.

Small, upright, entirely composed.