Dogon Bronze Equestrian Figure, Based

Knot of limbs and lumpy yellow surface that refuses to resolve into one pose.

This bronze equestrian figure on a base is Dogon, from Mali, West Africa, and dates to the late 19th century. Dogon art includes horse and rider figures, and these are generally taken to stand for ancestors, leaders or people of status. Upright, tightly packed figure group with a small pointed crest at the top and thick, bent legs below. Surface is pitted and uneven, in mottled honey brown with darker crevices and traces of green. It is 2.5 inches wide, 1 deep and 3.5 high.

Cast with more enthusiasm than clarity, and all the better for it.