Untitled

Untitled

Dogon Couple

This is a sculpture. It is made of wood. It was made by the Dogon people of Mali. The sculpture depicts a seated male and female couple. The bench is flat, and the legs are made of kneeling or standing figures. The male has his arm draped over the shoulders of the female figure. Both figures’ bodies are elongated, typical of how the Dogon depicts humans. The woman is nude with both her hands on the tops of her legs and her breasts high on her chest. Their faces are similar. The long noses and almond-shaped lips and eyes matching. The man has a narrow beard, which is matched by the cylindrical labret piercing under her bottom lip. The male has a quiver on his back and the woman is carrying a child. The symmetry in the shapes of these two figures is connected to the pairing of males and females in Dogon mythology, sexual duality, and the dynamics of Dogons' home life. The size and detail in this piece, as well as the roles of similar pieces, suggest that this is piece displayed at the funerals of important, wealthy Dogon men.

The Dogon

Martha and Robert Fogelman

Art Museum of the University of Memphis

ca. 18th/19th century

Neecole A. Gregory

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47.500x13.750xdepth 9.250
wood, carving

2008.2.87