Dogon Seated Figure, Mali

Spindly, bent figure folded into a question the object never asks.

This seated figure in forged metal is Dogon, from Mali, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. Forged metal figures are shaped by heating and hammering rather than casting, which tends to give them angular outlines and visible tool marks. Slim, curving body rises from a crossed-leg base to a long neck and a flat flared top. The pale mottled surface shows white, grey and tan crust in uneven patches. Thin arms loop forward near the base. It is 1 inches wide, 1 deep and 3 high.

Stretching upward with great enthusiasm and very little structure.