TELLEM Mali, region of Bandiagara h 46,5 cm Ritual... Lot 27

TELLEM Mali, region of Bandiagara h 46,5 cm Ritual figure. Hardwood covered with a mixture of sacrificial substances that give the sculpture a greyish colour. The sculpture depicts a Nommo, an ancestral figure that springs upwards from a small plinth. The vague image of a human body appears to emerge from the wood.The arms raised up high, which have now almost disappeared, evoke an act of pleading to the gods. The rudimentary face allows you to see eyes, a mouth and a pointed beard. The long breasts suggest this is a supernatural being of both sexes, a form of expression later depicted in Dogon tradition, a people that French anthropologist Marcel Griaule, with his research in Mali, brought to the world’s attention. PROVENANCE Former collection of Emilio Iogna, Milan; Work acquired by him in a Parisian gallery in the 1950s; Former collection of heirs; Private collection (2002)