Cameroonian Bronze Equestrian Figure

Arms flung wide and legs splayed, a crested figure greets the world with total confidence.

This cast bronze equestrian figure from Cameroon is from Cameroon, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. Cameroon has a number of bronze and brass casting traditions, especially in the Grassfields, where metalworkers have long made figures and regalia for chiefs. Up close, a flat, symmetrical figure has outstretched arms, two round raised breasts, a pointed crest on the head and long forked legs ending in thin points. The bright golden surface is tinted with green in the hollows. It is 2 inches wide, 0.5 deep and 1.5 high.

Direct, graphic and entirely unbothered by the rules of proportion.