A Dogon kola nut container

A Dogon kola nut container, a horse posted on a square base, the tail touches the base, the nose is awkwardly bent, on its back the container with zig-zag-lines and a braided leather cord to close the container, on the lid an identical horse with a female rider, her hands touch the animal´s shoulders, the navel pointed, the full breasts slightly sagging, the arms overlong, the legs short, the face tapering to a point, almost like that of a horse, so is the mouth, c-shaped ears, an amulet around the neck; several age cracks, especially in the container, partly encrusted sacrification patina and signs of use over a long time.

"Pferde sind seltene Tiere im Land der Dogon. In der Ikonographie stehen sie für hohen sozialen Rang und materiellen Reichtum, deuten aber auch auf ethische und mysthische Aspekte von Hoheit und Macht. ... Diese Deckelgefäße, die keinerlei alltäglichen Nutzen haben, wurden seit den 1920er Jahren von ersten Sammlern ... weit über ihre Funktionalität hinaus gewürdigt. Manche Stücke sind sehr komplex und eigenartig." Hélène Joubert, S. 312, Pl. 68, in: Hélène Leloup, Dogon.

“The word friendship in our society comes from this fruit. 
You must split it in two; one hand cannot clap; it takes two to make a sound. 
Everything that I do in art, as a visual form of expression, is [inspired] by this fruit. 
The kola nut, which has ritual and divine representation in the society where 
I come from in West Africa is my medium … a gift that has fallen from the gods to the African people.”
Senegalese Kola Textile Artist, Gade Diouf.

Lit.: Hélène Leloup, Dogon,Weltkulturerbe aus Afrika, 2011, Pl. 65-68. Tindall, R., The Culture of Cola: Social and Economic Aspects of a West African Domesticate, Southern Illinois University, 1997.

900 -1.200,- Euro

Height: 65 cm
Weight: 4 kg