This page is a record of an exhibit that took place in 2005. The individual links below will take you to the CURRENT VERSION of the pages that formed part of that exhibit. |
Please scroll down for links to images, sizes, prices and more information
on each object featured in the current exhibit. Although most of
the show is pictured here, there are several catalogs that are still being
prepared and will be added shortly. Please check back.
For those of you who cannot visit the gallery, we present some views of the exhibition.
ART of the DOGON CATALOGS:
These masks represent some of the animals that inhabit the regions where the Dogon live and hunt. They include antelopes, hares, lions, hyenas, cows, birds and monkeys.
Horse-shaped containers, embellished with carved Nommo (ancestor) figures and sun lizards symbolized the vehicle by which Dogon ancestors descended from heaven to earth.
These cast figures and objects, despite their small size, express status, prestige and power. These cast metal figures and other objects exhibit the technical skill and artistry that Dogon blacksmiths brought to their work. Made by the complex traditional lost-wax process, these are all small enough to be cast solid. The Dogon used metal for their most important ritual objects as well as everyday objects, farming implements and weapons.
Usually representing 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 a timeless, serene equality necessary to the continuity of their societies.
Used to protect houses and granaries, Dogon doorlocks range from the abstract and symbolic to representations of ancestors. Gravity-fed metal pins drop into holes in the sliding bolt, some of which also have a metal cover for additional strength and resistence to wear. Locks such as these were afixed with large iron staples through holes to house doors, which were usually plainer than the famous carved granary doors. Placing an image of an ancestor on the doorlock offered additional protection by making the door sacrosanct.
The Dogon are justifiably famous for their doors and this selection shows some of their range in style. Whether complex or plain, symbolic or abstract, solid or weathered by the elements and use, all are constructed of 2-3 wood panels joined by iron clips.
These doors protected the window-like opening into each family's grain
storage building, and used a simple sliding door lock. Primordial beings,
ancestors, Kanaga masks, sun lizards and scenes of life symbolically served
to protect the entrance by making it sacrosanct. The low reliefs are carved
on several panels, held together by iron staples.
Our selection ranges from simpler old ones to the complex ones popular today.
All of these are wired, ready to hang, and are shippable, unlike many of
the large doors.
Usually representing spirits, ancestors or the primordial couple, figures such as these were placed in shrines and treated with great respect. Through a wide range of style, scale, belief and function the couples depicted share a timeless, serene equality necessary to the continuity of their societies.
These hairpins, cast by the lost wax process, depict either animals or riders. Although horses are rare, horsemen as icon have existed for 1000 years in Mali. Some would depict a hogon, the supreme officeholder, a semi-divine leader of great wisdom, or even a mythological emissary from a distant land.
These carved wooden equestrian figures express status, prestige and power. They would bring honor to the ancestors, the current leadership and the owner of the sculpture. Although rare, horsemen as icon have existed for 1000 years in Mali. Some would depict a hogon, the supreme officeholder, a semi-divine leader of great wisdom, or even a mythological emissary from a distant land. Many would be depicted as warriors.
These forged iron masks, figures, lamps and other objects exhibit the technical skill and artistry that Dogon blacksmiths brought to their work. They would do the smelting to get the iron from iron ore, then heat and hammer out both the tools and weapons used and the important ritual objects.
The place where the sacred dances are held is invaded by more than eighty different types of masks. Of these, the most numerous are the kanaga. The kanaga has become an emblem of the Dogon. It is so well know that is often used as an emblem of the Mali Republic. To the uninitiated, it appears to be a bird of prey with outspread wings. However, any attempts by art historians to put meanings to these famous masks are just guesses (Wassing 1968, p.102). The kanaga is topped with a short pole intersected by two parallel blades. At the ends of the blades are boards, which point upwards on the top blades and downwards on the bottom blade. The face in encircled by dyed fibers. For those who have attained knowledge through initiation, it symbolizes man, axis of the world, pointing to both earth and sky. Another interpretation links kanaga to the water insect that implanted in the soil the first seed from which all other seed sprung. The flat, crushed shape of the pole evokes the fall of the first troublemaker, Ogo, the fox. What ever the meaning is today, may not have been the meaning of the first kanaga masks. No one can say what they originally meant, not even the Dogon. All of these interpretations are included in the dance of the Dama. A dancer with rapid movement of the upper body sweeps the mask close to the ground, evoking the creation by Amma (Paudrat p. 101).
These were used in a Dogon village to climb to the flat roof of a home, which was used for storage, living, and in appropriate weather, for sleeping. The ladders are a simple, abstract, intelligent use of materials.
These unique figures depart from the usual Dogon rigid totemic forms. Magically seen in the twisted trunks of trees, they are described to the village carver, who then "liberated" the figure.
The Dogon carve over eighty kinds of mask some of which, especially the Satimbe, Katanga and Sirige, are considered to have potent magical powers. Others, representing hunters or animals, are used in dances of a more celebratory or social nature.
DOGON, Maternity Figures, Mali
Exhibiting a wide diversity in size, symbolism, intimacy and style., African maternity figures depict the ideals of beauty, fertility, character and action and many signify much more, whether the primordial mother or a legendary founding ancestor. Commonly used as shrine figures, they were often objects of petitions or prayers for fertility and successful births. The prevelance of the maternity theme testifies to the importance of women and children to the continuity of each people.
These cast metal figures express status, prestige and power. They would bring honor to the ancestors, the current leadership and the owner of the sculpture.
DOGON, Miniature Ladders, Mali
Dogon ladders have the utilitarian function of enabling people to get to their homes and granaries. While miniature ladders are close replicas of the big ones, they have a purely spiritual purpose. In a secluded part of the house an altar is maintained with various small statues and, most importantly, a small clay jar in which resides the soul of the family's head. The tiny ladder lies against this jar and will serve, upon the decease of its owner, to enable his soul to climb to the hereafter and join his ancestors.
While the big ladders have a surface worn smooth in spots by years of contact with hands and feet, and at the same time a weathered look, the miniature ones are hardly ever handled and are never outside.
These pestles, of very hard wood, were used to grind grain and other foods in large mortars (not yet photographed). They are mounted (removable, with one drilled hole) on a pin on 6" square iron stands. Price includes stand. Some pestles have minor, stable cracks.
These unique equestrian figures, some cast of a bronze allow and some forged of iron, express status, prestige and power. They would bring honor to the ancestors, the current leadership and the owner of the sculpture. Although rare, horsemen as icon have existed for 1000 years in Mali. Some would depict a hogon, the supreme officeholder, a semi-divine leader of great wisdom, or even a mythological emissary from a distant land.
Satimbe masks are surmounted by a female figure which represents the elder sister of the mask.
Small wooden stools serve the Dogon people for everyday use. There are two distinct types. The simple, abstract ones that we have are very old and wonderfully eroded by time, use and exposure. The more complex ones, supported by figures representing ancestors or nommo were originally symbols of authority for the priests or hogons and not used as stools. Those with a post in the middle are linked with Dogon mythology. The seat represents heaven, the base represents the earth, and the post represents a tree, linking the two.
Usually representing spirits, ancestors or the primordial couple, figures such as these were placed in shrines and treated with great respect. These figures are not Tellem (the people living in this area before the Dogon) but show the old gesture of upraised arms or "Tellem style."
The toguna is the most important public edifice in a Dogon village, in which men's assemblies and council meetings are held. (togu = shelter, na = big, great or mother, therefore toguna = great shelter) Its position is chosen by the chief and the village is built around it. The toguna posts, therefore, are cultural artifacts of major importance and power, created by man, imbued with spirituality and aged by the earth.
In addition to the numerous types of masks and figures used traditionally in Dogon culture, most of their functional objects and architectural pieces have artistic significance, showing the importance they played in Dogon life.
The Dogon are well known for their Toguna house posts and their ladders. We are trying to find out the exact usage of these posts.
In addition to the numerous types of masks and figures used traditionally in Dogon culture, most of their functional objects and architectural pieces have artistic significance, showing the importance they played in Dogon life.
These striking rectangular masks represent the antelope, an animal admired for its beauty and strength. Dancers strike the ground with sticks to represent the antelope pawing the ground.
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