Dogon Seated Female Figure

Seated figure clutching a ribbed object, with ears like little handles.

This seated female figure is Dogon, from Mali, West Africa, and dates to the early 20th century. It is bronze. Small Dogon bronzes are generally made by the lost-wax method, in which a wax model is covered in clay, melted out and replaced with molten metal. Dark, worn surface on a slim seated figure with a long, narrow face and small side projections at the head. Both hands hold a textured, ridged bundle at the torso. One leg extends forward with a greenish tint at the foot. It is 1.25 inches wide, 1.5 deep and 3.5 high.

Holding on tightly to whatever it is, and not sharing.