African Arts Gallery

French collection of African art. Cups are stacked around a flat stem, crusty oil residues have stuck together in the cups. The object was used as a lamp using shea oil or butter and a cotton wick. Old crusty matte patina.
Dogon blacksmiths form an endogamous caste among the Dogon called irim.Today they produce weapons, tools, and also work wood. "Masters of fire" associated in the Dogon cosmogony with the primordial beings "Nommo" created by the god Ama, they are also supposed to heal burns. Small metal objects, made using the lost wax technique, were widespread in the region of the inner Niger Delta, copper arriving there thanks to trans-Saharan trade. Excavations on the Bandiagara Plateau have in fact uncovered remains of steelmaking sites dating back to before the 15th century, the date of the arrival of the Dogon. The Nommo, a protective ancestor evoked in different forms in Dogon iconography, is said to be an ancestor with the ability to manifest himself in human or animal form.