Figure
| Culture | Dogon |
|---|---|
| Title | Figure |
| Date | 13th–15th century |
| Medium | Clay |
| Dimensions | Object: 16 5/8 × 6 1/4 × 7 1/2 in. (42.2 × 15.9 × 19.1 cm) Overall: 16 5/8 × 6 1/4 × 7 1/2 in. (42.2 × 15.9 × 19.1 cm) |
| Credit Line | Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 82.12 |
| This artwork is currently on view. | |
A figure with an elongated torso and long arms. The figure is seated or kneeling with hands resting on the tops of the legs.
Little is known about this figure, the "Bankoni Style" designation refers to its visual similarity to material that archeologists have found in mounds in the village of Bankoni, which is about six miles from Bamako, Mali's capital.
1982, Indiana University Art Museum purchase from Phillippe Guimiot, Brussels, Belgium
probably between 1958–1982, Phillippe Guimiot acquires, Brussels, Belgium [1]
Unidentified date, unidentified owner(s), possibly in Mali and/or other places [2]
Notes
[1] We do not know when or under what circumstances Phillippe Guimiot acquired this work, as Guimiot did not provide the museum with any further provenance information including how he acquired it. The date range when Guimiot may have acquired the work is estimated to between ca. 1958–1982 based on when Guimiot began collecting African art in 1958 and the donation date.
[2] We do not yet know how many changes in ownership transpired between when this artwork was initially made and owned to when Phillippe Guimiot 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.
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Cite this page
"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=82.12