Dogon figure

Africa | Mali

Dogon figure

Mali

Dogon Figure
Mali

19th century
Carved wood
Height: 39 cm – 15 ¼ in.

Provenance
Collection Jacques Kerchache (1942-2001), Paris
Private collection, France
Collection Guilhem Montagut, Barcelona
Private collection, France

Publication
“Tristan Tzara et Cahiers d’art. Autour d’une statuette Dogon”,Féau, E., Limousin, I. & al., Vézelay, 2014, p. 40, n° 18
“Un Choix”, Montagut, G., Barcelona, 2021, pp. 10-13

Exhibition
“Tristan Tzara et Cahiers d’art”, Vézelay, Musée Zervos, 15 March – 16 June 2014
“Autour d’une statuette dogon”, Vézelay, Musée Zervos, 24 June – 15 November 2014
“Un choix”, Paris, Galerie Montagut, Parcours des Mondes. 20e édition, 7 – 12 September 2021

Dogon statuary is linked to "a vast body of myths relating to the creation of the universe, the struggle between order and disorder, and the place of man in this universe" (see Kate Ezra, Art of the Dogon, 1988, page 16). The sculptures played an initiatory role and served as a guide for young initiated boys of the Awa society in their learning of Dogon traditions and myths. The statuary was deciphered by the initiate according to their level of knowledge. According to Jean Laude, poet, ethnologist, critic, and art historian, "Dogon sculptures, more than any others, embody religious values and feelings, and constitute symbolic and esoteric entities."

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