African Arts Gallery

Belgian African art collection. Bronze sculpture featuring a mythical rider, ancestor or Dogon religious leader. Golden patina.
The frequent representations of horsemen, among the Dogon of the Mali, refer to their cosmogony and complex religious myths. Indeed, one of the Nommos , ancestors of men , resurrected by the creator god Amma , came down to earth carried by an ark metamorphosed into a horse. Moreover, the highest authority of the Dogon people, the religious chief named Hogon, paraded on his horse during his enthronement because according to the custom he should not put his foot on the ground. In the region of the Sangha cliffs, inaccessible by horse, the priests carried him while neighing in reference to the mythical ancestor Nommo.
The Dogon blacksmiths form an endogamous caste among the Dogon called irim. Today they produce weapons, tools, and also work with wood. "Masters of fire" associated in Dogon cosmogony with the primordial beings "Nommo" created by the god Ama, they are also supposed to cure burns. Small metal objects, made according to the lost wax technique, were widespread in the region of the interior delta of the Niger, copper reaching it thanks to the trans-Saharan trade.