Dogon Seated Male Figure with Raised Arms

Arms raised so high they close into a ring.

Dogon metalworkers of Mali, West Africa, cast this bronze seated male figure with raised arms. Small Dogon castings are often associated with ritual and personal devotion, and raised arms recur in Dogon art. Here the arms sweep up and meet in a wide oval loop above a narrow body. The head is a small, simple form at the center, and the surface is a mottled olive-brown with faint incised marks down the torso. A squared foot ring forms the base.

About 6 inches tall. Slender, graceful, and mostly air, which is how it keeps your attention.