African Arts Gallery

African art collection put up for sale by Jan Putteneers.
This dogon sculpture, a traditional figurative jewel, adorned with a zoomorphic subject, accompanied the ceremonial dress of religious leaders, hogon, responsible for the cult of the lebe, mythical snake, and priests of the Binou. Small metal objects, made using the lost wax technique, were widespread in the interior delta region of Niger, with copper being made possible through trans-Saharan trade. Excavations on the Bandiagara plateau have uncovered remains of steel sites prior to the 15th century, when the Dogons arrived. In yellow copper alloy, this element of dogon tribal adornment has acquired a beautiful golden patina. Dogon blacksmiths form an endogamous caste among the Dogon called rim . They now produce weapons, tools, and also work wood. They are also believed to cure burns by the god Ama, as the masters of the fire" associated in the dogon cosmogony to the primordial beings of the U.0022Nommo". The Nommo, a protective ancestor evoked in various forms in dogon iconography, is said to be an ancestor endowed with the ability to manifest itself in a human or animal form.