Busacca Gallery

Dogon Ancestor Figure Mali: Dogon Ancestor Figure. Origin: Mali Circa: 20 th Century AD Dimensions: 11.5" (29.2cm) high x 3.5" (8.9cm) wide Collection: African Art: Medium: Wood: This powerful piece is an ancestor figure made by the Dogon people of Mali. It displays a number of traditional elements, including the domed, crested head, the long beard, the angular shoulders/arms and the flexed legs. However, the extremely geometric rendering, regular patination and reductive incised work imply that it is a reiterative piece, made somewhat later than the pieces that inspired it. The Dogon have been described as the most studied and least understood tribal group in Africa. They have a long, continuous history, with exceptional cultural diversity. They moved to this area in the 15th century to escape Mande and Islamic slavers, displacing a number of local tribes (including the Tellem and Niongom). They are excessively prolific in terms of artistic production; masks/figures in stone, iron, bronze/copper and of course wood are all known, in addition to cave/rock painting and adaptation of more modern materials. There are around seventy-eight different mask forms still in production (and numerous extinct variants), with applications ranging from circumcision to initiation and funeral rites (damas). There are also masks and figures that are directed towards regard for twins, snakes, ancestors, nommo, hogons (holy men); even secular items are decorated with beneficial iconographic designs including headrests, granary doors/locks, house-posts and troughs. The scale of the population and the size of the area in which they live have resulted in considerable artistic diversity in terms of styles.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogon_people

The Dogon are an ethnic group living in the central plateau region of the country of Mali, in Western Africa, south of the Niger bend, near the city of Bandiagara, in the Mopti region. The population numbers between 400,000 and 800,000. The Dogon are best known for their religious traditions, their mask dances, wooden sculpture and their architecture. The past century has seen significant changes in the social organization, material culture and beliefs of the Dogon, partly because Dogon country is one of Mali's major tourist attractions.