A very old fragmentary anthropomorphic sculpture in the so-c - Lot 134

A very old fragmentary anthropomorphic sculpture in the so-called N'duleri style, wearing a magnificent braided headdress, a beard and the "korte" necklace, these three iconographic elements being particularly characteristic of the N'duleri style, which produced and saw the birth of some of the finest works of great early Dogon statuary. The highly expressive face, despite erosion and loss due to the particular history and venerable age of this work, does indeed appear to be bearded, a characteristic of many sculptures in the N'duleri style, but her breasts and headdress (although braided headdresses also appear on clearly masculine works) seem a priori to be more feminine elements, raising the possibility of a hermaphrodite representation. Hélène Leloup, in her book Dogon statuary, probably because of the impossibility of deciding whether certain N'duleri sculptures, and indeed certain Djennenke works, are male or female, the two being closely linked. The hermaphroditic works most certainly represented an ancient divinity. The rediscovery of this sculpture in the Henri and Alice Dupont collection enriches the inventory of ancient sculptures in the so-called N'duleri style. Dogon, N'duleri style, Mali, c. 16th-17th century Wood, with visible cracks and erosions, superb old ritual patina. Height: 37cm Provenance: Alice and Henri Dupont Alice and Henri Dupont Collection, Lille, acquired c. 1950 Passed on by descent