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A work made of wood.

Miniature Male Figure

19th/mid–20th century

Dogon Mali Northern Africa and the Sahel

Mali

This figure encapsulates the hallmarks of Dogon abstraction in precise miniature. He stands with his knees flexed and his elongated forearms extended to cover his face. The pose may be a reference to mourning or to rituals for ancestors, as Dogon figures with this gesture are often placed on ancestral altars.

Wood

Arts of Africa