Dogon Hair Pin with Female Figure

In frame, a tall narrow loop frames a small figure poised high on a slim post.

This hair pin with female figure is Dogon, from Mali, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is iron. The Dogon of Mali are known for their ironwork, and slender forged pins topped with small figures were made as hair ornaments and personal accessories. Seen plainly, a dark, aged metal shaft on a black stand, with a figure near the top held inside a narrow raised arch that ends in a point. A swelling knob and ring detail the stem below. The surface is mottled and worn. It is 2 inches wide, 2 deep and 7 high.

Lofty, narrow and almost entirely vertical in outlook.