Dogon Kneeling Figure with Vessel

She holds a bowl in her lap, and a smaller figure is carved into her chest.

Dogon metalworkers of Mali, West Africa, cast this kneeling figure with a vessel in bronze in the 20th century. Figures holding bowls are commonly associated with offerings and with prayers for rain and fertility. The kneeling figure has a pointed crest and slender, blocky limbs. Small rings hang from the ears and a tiny figure appears carved on the chest above the bowl. The patina is silvery blue-gray with warm brown streaks.

About three and a half inches tall. Small but densely packed with ideas.