Dogon Primordial Couple Figure
The small figures on the rear of the stool, these were believed to represent the ancestors, who played a heavy role in Dogon society.
Tribe: Dogon
Origin: Mali
Approx Age: 1950s
Materials: Wood
Dimensions cm: 53 x 18
Ref. Number: 1663
£1500.00 RESERVED
Description:
A beautiful example of a Dogon primordial couple figure, the styling of this piece would suggest that it is N’duleri, scarifications down the torso, marked wrist and top of the arm bangles. Complete encrusted patina from libations sat on a stool of three smaller figures with very faint markings around the edge of the seat.
Provenance: Ex-Private UK collection.
History
The Dogon carved figures that usually represented spirits, ancestors or the primordial couple, these figures were placed in shrines and treated with great respect. Through a wide range of style, scale, belief and function the couples depicted share timeless, serene equality necessary to the continuity of their societies. Traditionally, most of the couples are two freestanding figures, conceived as a unit, and posed frontally, symmetrically, in formal postures and of equal size.
Sculpted as stools and headrests, the male and female figures serve as symbolic supports, or as handles when worked into the design of bowls. Couples also appear as decorative elements on African doors.
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