TELLEM Mali, region of Bandiagara h 42,3 cm Ritual... Lot 25

TELLEM Mali, region of Bandiagara h 42,3 cm Ritual figure. Hardwood covered with a mixture of sacrificial substances which give the sculpture a greyish colour. The sculpture depicts an ancestral figure that emerges in relief from a small platform polished on the edges with V-shaped grooves. At the bottom, the whole work joins together in a point.The male character, evident by its thick beard, has its arms raised up high. His body is separated from the platform in the middle and, without showing the lower limbs, joins together in a point at the bottom. The image of the body is defined solely by the torso, the head, and the raised arms. This is a fitting symbolic representation to secure favours from the gods. PROVENANCE Former collection of Emilio Iogna, MilanSculpture acquired by him in a gallery in Paris in the ‘50s; Private collection of heirs