Kotoko Bronze Equestrian Figure

Sea-green and ancient-looking, with a scroll for a head.

Kotoko metalworkers of Chad, Central Africa, cast this bronze equestrian figure in the 19th or 20th century. Horse and rider figures are commonly associated with chiefly rank in the lake Chad region. The horse’s neck sweeps into a hooked, scrolled head, and circular studs ornament its chest beneath a banded saddle cloth. Two riders sit aboard, one with a ridged cap, one drawn up into a tall point. The bronze has a deep green patina, nearly black in the hollows.

About six inches tall. Substantial on a desk, and well behaved.