Dogon Standing Female Figure

Polished gold tones and crossed arms give this slim figure a confident glow.

This standing female figure in bronze is Dogon, from Mali, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. Female figures appear often in Dogon art, and scholars generally relate them to ideas of fertility, lineage and the sustaining role of women, though interpretations vary. Appearing here is a tall, narrow figure with one arm folded across the chest, a long body with incised lines, and a ridged band at the waist. The face is tapered, with a pointed brow. The surface is warm, bright and smooth. It is 1 inches wide, 1.5 deep and 6.5 high.

Slim, shiny and perfectly certain of itself.