Dogon Bronze Maternity Figure

The mother holds the baby on one arm and the baby holds on to everything else.

This maternity figure is Dogon, from Mali, West Africa, and dates to the 19th or 20th century. It is bronze. Mothers with children are among the most familiar figures in Dogon casting, and they are generally connected with fertility and family continuity. She stands tall and narrow, a banded waist above long legs. One arm curves up to cradle the child against her chest, while the other wraps beneath it. A flat, squared face with a ridged nose tops the head. The surface is dark and slightly worn. It is 1.25 inches wide, 1 deep and 6 high.

Tender, vertical, and not a gram of excess.