Artwork Page for Male Figure

Details / Information for Male Figure

Male Figure

possibly 1300s–1600s

Africa, West Africa, Mali, probably Djenné-Djenno, Inland Niger Delta culture-style maker

Medium
Terracotta
Measurements
Overall: 19.7 cm (7 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1985.199
Public Domain
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Location
108A African
Print
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Did You Know?

While we don’t know who made this work, it can be hypothesized that it was a woman; today, as in much of Africa, potters in Mali are female.

Description

Figures like this would have been used in rituals by the ancestors of the present-day inhabitants of the Inland Niger Delta. Representing the gods and kings or queens associated with the region’s former residents, the figures received prayers and offerings in exchange for their support. The seated position of this male has been interpreted as a harmful pose intended to bring death to an individual.
Seated, pale brown terracotta figure with their left arm wrapping around to grab their right shoulder, leaning their left elbow on their left knee and looking down over their arm. Their right ankle hooks behind their left ankle, and their right arm crosses across their chest and behind the left knee. Their body is covered in irregularly shaped circular protrusions, including across the figure's bald head.

Male Figure

possibly 1300s–1600s

Africa, West Africa, Mali, probably Djenné-Djenno, Inland Niger Delta culture-style maker

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