Kotoko Stylized Equestrian Figure

Four fingers for legs, a drooping head, and a rider who is not worried.

This stylized Kotoko equestrian figure in cast bronze is Kotoko, from Chad, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. Horse and rider figures are found across the Sahel and West Africa, where the mounted figure is generally linked to chiefs, warriors and authority. Tall-legged animal with a bowed head, a blunt snout and a slim rider perched along its spine. Dark inner legs contrast with mottled golden-brown flanks, and the surface is knobby and uneven. It is 2.5 inches wide, 0.5 deep and 2.25 high.

A strange, sturdy creature with a lot of gait.