A Dogon stone sculpture

A Dogon stone sculpture, Mali/Burkina Faso. Certificate of origin and provenance.

Three years ago, I visited the National Museum in Bamako to present the objects I had collected in Mali to the museum director for export authorisation. Normally, the exported objects are photographed by the museum photographer, the photos are presented to the director and then, usually declared as "copies", authorised for export. Everyone knows that the "material" is usually anything but copies, as the objects show clear traces of ritual use, which is the generally recognised criterion for "original condition". In the past, as of 2004, this included a large number of 1,000-year-old sculptures from Djenne, Bankoni, Tenekun, etc. They were all authorised for export to the West as copies with the corresponding certificates without any problems. I presented these documents to the protagonist of the restitution, Benedicte Savoy. She photographed them and was amazed at the low value that the museum management stated in these certificates (a 1,000-year-old Djenne figure - subsequently analysed in the West using the TL method - was released for 3,000 FCFA = 4.50 euros, for example).

But back to this type of stone figure, of which we presented five or six stone sculptures to the museum at the meeting in the National Museum in Bamako. For the first time, the new director came in person to see the objects presented and asked where we had collected them and what context they came from. I explained that I had acquired the figures in Bamako Faladie from two local traders who had bought them on the Bandiagara Plateau. "I do not know these sculptures; it is possible that they come from a Dogon shrine that I do not know. For this reason, I cannot authorise their export. If I did, I would receive a call from Tervuren tomorrow telling me that we are not protecting our cultural heritage here in Mali."

When I left Mali and returned to Lomé, I was told by the dealers in Bamako that a meeting had been held with the director of the National Museum after my departure to discuss the matter. In order to enquire about the outcome independently of the traders, I wrote to the director and asked about the outcome of this meeting. I did not receive a reply. Instead, I received, among other things, this stone sculpture, which was brought directly to Lomé. On my next visit, I will visit the said director again and ask him at least for a verbal statement. I expect to do this in the first half of this year.

Height: 52 cm
Weight: 7,4 kg