Dress ornament in the form of a horseman

The attribution this ornament is uncertain, but it was purchased as from the Dogon. The ambiguity arises from the overlap between the Jenne style and that of the early Dogon, who undoubtedly were in at least occasional contact with the horsemen of the empire of Mali.

The figure is that of a man riding side-saddle, holding a bow in his left hand and with a quiver over his right shoulder. He is bearded, with long braids in front of each ear, and he wears a conical hat and patterned kilt; the horse has a bridle and neck bands and seems to be secured on a very short tether to what may be a tall post. The hat would seem to identify the rider as a hogon (a priest chief of the Dogon, see object no. 927, and Griaule, 1965: pl. IVb).

The piece does not seem to have been a pendant, since the two loops at the back would cause it to hang crooked. It may have been worn strapped to the arm, and it may have had rings hanging from the small holes on the lower edge.

Margaret Carey, 1997

Entry taken from Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection, Vol. 2: Pacific, African and Native North American Art, edited by Steven Hooper (Yale University Press, 1997) p. 109.