Male Figure
| Culture | Dogon |
|---|---|
| Title | Male Figure |
| Date | Possibly 16th century |
| Medium | Wood |
| Dimensions | Object: 45 3/4 × 8 1/16 × 6 7/8 in. (116.2 × 20.5 × 17.5 cm) Overall: 45 3/4 × 8 1/16 × 6 7/8 in. (116.2 × 20.5 × 17.5 cm) |
| Credit Line | Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 87.12 |
| This artwork is currently on view. | |
A carved wooden figure standing on a small base with its arms raised over its head, the hands pointing upwards. The figure has bands around its wrists, a beard-like shape around its face, prominent pectorals, and indications of male genitalia.
Taller than most Dogon figures, this one, though damaged, has a sculptural quality indicating a masterful carver at work. The powerful columnar volumes of the arms, torso, and legs contrast with the flatness of the hands and beard and the delicacy of the chip-carved patterns on the torso and face, probably representing scarification, which are echoed in the serrated sides of the beard.
The Dogon live in a dry climate that has allowed the preservation of wooden objects for periods unheard of in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa, so it is not unusual for figures to be more than a century old. The tentative sixteenth-century date for this figure is based on a carbon-14 test that was performed during the 1960s, which yielded a date of 1520 +/- 100. Dogon figures are placed on altars dedicated to ancestors, both real and mythic, and on rain-making altars. The raised arms are a gesture associated with praying.
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
"Male 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=87.12