Dogon Standing Male Figure in Prayer

Green-brown figure with hands pressed together beneath a long, sloped neck.

This standing male figure in prayer is Dogon, from Mali, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is copper. Gestures of prayer or supplication appear in Dogon art, where raised arms are often linked with requests for rain or for a good harvest. Slender standing figure with a narrow head on an elongated neck, shoulders sloping into arms that fold together at the chest. The torso is long and plain and the feet are small. It stands on a black square base. It is 1 inches wide, 1 deep and 4.5 high.

Hands together and entirely ready to be polite.