Dogon Standing Male Figure, Based

Five inches tall, bearded, and holding something curved against his hip.

Dogon metalworkers made small figures for personal shrines and altars, often showing ancestors or men of standing. This bronze man, from Mali in the early 20th century, has a long neck, one arm bent toward his waist, and the other holding a curved object along his hip.

His chest is incised with a crosshatched pattern, and a fringed, patterned loincloth hangs below. A dark patina is overlaid with reddish-brown encrustation, giving the surface depth. He stands on a black base.

A man of standing, standing.