Kotoko Bronze Equestrian Figure

A hatted horseman with a looping rope for reins and a very serious expression

This equestrian figure is Kotoko, from Chad, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is bronze. Bronze figures are generally made by the lost-wax method, in which a wax model is covered in clay, melted out and replaced with molten metal. Hunched and hat-wearing, a figure sits over a stubby horse with cone-shaped legs. A twisted cord swings out from the head in a large loop. Dark, pitted surface with golden highlights on the legs and a banded girth. It is 2 inches wide, 1 deep and 2.5 high.

Small, scruffy, and absolutely certain of its destination.