Equestrian Figure
| Culture | Djenné |
|---|---|
| Title | Equestrian Figure |
| Date | 15th–18th century |
| Medium | Clay and pigment |
| Dimensions | Object: 9 5/8 × 3 × 5 1/2 in. (24.4 × 7.6 × 14 cm) Overall (includes mount): 9 15/16 × 3 1/2 × 5 3/16 in. (25.2 × 8.9 × 13.2 cm) |
| Credit Line | Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 76.98.1 |
| This artwork is currently on view. | |
Figure seated on the back of a horse with a body in a curved horseshoe shape. The figure's arms and legs have broken off and both the figure and the horse are decorated with small dots of a dark pigment.
Since few Djenné figures have been found in controlled archaeological excavations, the extent of their use is unclear, but they may have served as devotional or commemorative images. The depiction of an equestrian may refer to the glories of military success as well as the power and wealth associated with individuals who owned horses, animals that were and are very expensive to maintain in this part of the continent.
1976, Indiana University Art Museum purchase from Alan Brandt, Inc., New York, NY
Unidentified date, Alan Brandt acquires, New York, NY [1]
Unidentified dates, unidentified owner(s), possibly in Djenne, Mali and/or other places [2]
Notes
[1] Alan Brandt (1924–2002) did not provide any further provenance information including how he acquired this artwork.
[2] We do not yet know how many changes in ownership transpired between when this artwork was first made and owned in Djenne to when Brandt acquired it. This absence of documentation on ownership history within the cultures where the artworks were made and used is part of a larger history of collecting practices that did not record prior ownership among communities of origin.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
March 10–July 31, 1999, "Horses and Riders in West African Art," Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, IN
May 17–October 15, 1983, "African Art in Color," National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
October 14, 1981–March 27, 1982, "Ancient Treasures in Terra Cotta of Mali and Ghana," African-American Institute, New York, NY, October 14, 1981–January 9, 1982; Chicago Public Library Cultural Center, Chicago, IL, January 30–March 27, 1982
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Cite this page
"Equestrian Figure | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=76.98.1