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This is the rating and price for Dogon Tellem Figure, Mali



Description : Dogon Tellem Figure, Mali Wood with black ritual patination Height 17in (43.2cm) Provenance Philippe Guimiot, Brussels Important Private Collection, acquired from the above in 1994 The gesture of arms reaching high above the head is seen throughout Dogon art, the most common interpretation being a prayer for rain. Kate Ezra notes, 'Pleas for rain are made not only at the andugo altars, but also at altars dedicated to a family's ancestors, the binu, and Lebe. All of these altars are the focus of one of the most important Dogon rituals, called bulu, the same term that is also used in a general way for all sacrifices. Bulu takes place every year at the beginning of the planting season. At the climax of this ritual, the hogon and various binu priests climb the roofs of their sanctuaries and throw down to the assembled crowd heads of millet from sacred fields, which are to be used in planting that year's crop. A photograph of this ritual shows a priest flinging the grain with arms raised and outstretched (Ganay, Solange de, Le Binou Yébéné, Miscellanea Africana Lebaudy, no. 2, Paris, 1942, pl.IIIb). The same gesture that invokes the heavens to send down rain may also capture the motion that results in the other essential component of a good harvest--seeds impregnated with the life force of the ancestors and binu.' ( Art of the Dogon: Selections from the Lester Wunderman Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1988, p. 59) For further information on this lot please visit the website
Price: 0.00 USD It's free to register now to view!
Estimate (low-high) : 15000 USD-25000 USD It's free to register now to view!

About the lot N° 138
Title : Dogon Tellem Figure, Mali
Medium : Wood with black ritual patination
Condition report : Old losses to base; age distress lines with old losses to front along right arm, to back and left side; abrasions to nose, back of head and along edges; white liquid flecks to front surface. Custom mount.
Bonhams, auctioneer, New York, US It's free to register now to view!
Sale title : African & Oceanic Art
Sale date : 27 Apr 2022 It's free to register now to view!
Sale Reference : Live Sale

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