Dogon Stargazer Walking, Male

He is in mid-stride, arms swinging free, and nothing appears likely to stop him.

This walking male stargazer is contemporary Dogon work from Mali or Burkina Faso, in forged iron and copper. The name nods to the sky lore recorded among the Dogon by 20th-century ethnographers, though scholars still dispute the details. Long thin arms hang away from a body that is little more than a line. Two legs lean together, angling down into a bell-shaped base. A small lumpy head sits at the top, and the crusted surface shows green and rust. It stands 43 inches high and 8 wide.

The walk is long. The destination is overhead.