Equestrian Figure

Description

In the 15th century, Dogon people fleeing hostilities in their homeland—caused by slave raiders’ incursions and the expansion of Islam—migrated to the rocky Bandiagara Escarpment in present-day Mali, where they encountered the Tellem people. While the Dogon eventually expelled the Tellem from the region, the two peoples appear to have influenced each other’s sculptural styles. This horse-and-rider features the pared-down style and encrusted surface associated with sculptures made by the Tellem.

Provenance

Raymond and Laura Wielgus, Chicago, IL, by 1961; given to the Art Institute, 1961.

Equestrian Figure

Dogon

16th/19th century

Accession Number

87106

Medium

Wood and sacrificial material

Dimensions

35.2 × 6.4 × 12.1 cm (13 7/8 × 2 1/2 × 4 3/4 in.)

Classification

sculpture

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Raymond Wielgus