Kneeling Lady with Bowl

This powerful yet fragmented sculpture depicts a kneeling woman holding a bowl on her head. She is naked, her body well-formed, the sculpture very similar in style and condition to a much more fragmented "Nduleri" example of a Mother and Child, height 31.5 cm., illustrated by Helene Leloup in her book "Dogon Statuary", plate 126, now in a private European collection. This example is much more complete and extraordinarily fine, the "bowl on head" gesture found in several different versions indicative of matriarchal achievements and authority. The surface is extremely dry, cracked in parts, likely resulting from prolonged exposure within a very dry - perhaps a cave environment.
Height: 19.75 inches (50.2 cm.)
DG020