Dogon Standing Female Figure with Arms Crossed Over Belly

Hands folded across the belly, feet planted, a thin and upright woman.

Dogon artists of Mali, West Africa, cast this standing female figure in bronze in the 20th century. Gestures that draw the hands to the belly are commonly read in West African art as references to fertility and motherhood. The figure is slender, with a tall neck, a flat, angular face and arms bent to hold her rounded stomach. Banded rings circle her limbs, and her feet are square. The metal has a coppery, dark brown surface, flecked with reddish tones.

About 9 inches tall. She will outlast anything else on the desk.