Miniature Male Figure

Arts of Africa

19th/mid–20th century

Dogon
Mali
Northern Africa and the Sahel

This figure encapsulates the hallmarks of Dogon abstraction in precise miniature. He stands with his knees flexed and his elongated forearms extended to cover his face. The pose may be a reference to mourning or to rituals for ancestors, as Dogon figures with this gesture are often placed on ancestral altars.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Dogon
Title: Miniature Male Figure
Place: Mali (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1800–1950
Medium: Wood
Dimensions: H.: 8.9 cm (3 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Richard Faletti, the Faletti Family Collection
Reference Number: 2006.106

Mary Nooter Roberts and Allen F. Roberts, A Sense of Wonder: African Art from the Faletti Family Collection (Phoenix: Phoenix Art Museum, 1997), pg. 52, cat. 1 (ill.).

Phoenix Art Museum, A Sense of Wonder: African Art from the Faletti Family Collection, Dec. 13, 1997-Feb. 8, 1998, cat. 1; traveled to Chicago, The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, May 14-June 28, 1998, Urbana-Champaign, Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Sept. 18-Nov. 1, 1998, New York, N.Y., The Museum for African Art, Jan. 29-March 28, 1999, Davenport Museum of Art, Apr. 18-June 13, 1999, New Brunswick, N.J., Rutgers University, The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Sept. 12-Nov. 24, 1999, and The Boise Art Museum, Feb. 26-May 7, 2000.

William Wright Gallery, New York, N.Y., by 1985; sold to Richard Faletti (died 2006) and Barbara Faletti (died 2000), Chicago, Ill. and Phoenix, Ariz., 1985; given to the Art Institute, 2006.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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