Dogon Ginin Statue - Bombou Toro Style

Four faces, one body, and a flat dish on top for good measure.

Dogon carvers of Mali, West Africa, made this figure in wood in the early 20th century, and the record calls it a Ginin statue in the Bombou Toro style. Dogon sculpture is widely associated with altars, ancestors and ritual life, though specific meanings vary. A broad dished platform caps the head, which is a cluster of faces facing different ways. The torso is ribbed and angular above slender legs, standing on a rounded base. The surface is very dark, almost black, with reddish glints where it has been handled.

About 16 inches tall. Watchful from every angle, which is more than most houseguests manage.