Senufo Bronze Male Figure

Arms bowed into open loops, hands resting at the hips. He is relaxed about being looked at.

Senufo metalworkers in Mali made small brass and bronze figures by the lost-wax method, often for divination and as personal protective objects. This one is bronze, 20th century, about seven and three-quarters inches. Tall and slender. The head rises to a pointed crest, with round eyes and a straight nose in a long face. Hatching and herringbone lines cover the torso and limbs. A ringed waistband sits above straight legs. Pale deposits lodge in the incisions of the dark patina.

The lines do the talking. He keeps the pose.