Miniature Bronzes

An equestrian bronze small enough to close a hand around. Miniature African and Indian bronzes here are lost-wax castings from the Dogon of Mali, the Kotoko of Chad, and the Gan, Lobi and Bobo of Burkina Faso, along with brass pilgrimage figures from Maharashtra. Dogon casters made seated and kneeling figures, mothers with children and riders on horseback, some pierced to hang as pendants. Kotoko equestrian figures are often pared down to a few lines, horse and rider nearly one shape.

There are Gan serpent pendants, Chamba coiled rings, Ashanti drummers and lions, a Senufo woman holding a calabash, a Bambara crouching rifleman and a Sao standing figure, along with Indian Garuda bronzes, Shiva lingams from Rajasthan and pilgrimage figures of Ganesh, Hanuman and Lakshmi. Gather a dozen on a tray or a single shelf, where they read as a small crowd rather than clutter. Small enough to collect in groups, which is where the trouble starts.