Malian Seated Female Figure

A seated woman with looped hair and legs tangled in curls, rendered with a few flowing strokes.

This seated female figure from the Djenne people is from Mali, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is bronze. Djenne in the inland Niger delta of Mali is a historic trading town, known for its mud-brick architecture and for terra cotta figures made by earlier communities nearby. Slender figure in a pale, sage-green finish, with a rounded coiffure, small scrolled ear, and flat, plank-like back. The legs curl into spirals at the base, and the surface shows soft speckled wear. It is 0.5 inches wide, 0.5 deep and 2.3 high.

All that curling, and she still looks composed.