Dogon Standing Male Figure

Dogon smiths held an important place in their communities. Their figures stood near shrines, offerings and ancestral memory.

This one was forged and cast in iron in Mali in the 20th century. Four inches tall. He holds a rounded object across his waist with both bent arms. His head rises in a tall, crested form, a ringed neck below. The legs are straight and columnar, the toes neatly marked.

The surface is dark and rust-flecked, with paler deposits in the hollows.

He is holding something. He is not saying what.