Ɵ Tellem pair of standing figures, Dogon,... - Lot 39 - Giquello

Lot 39
Go to lot
Estimation :
80000 - 130000 EUR
Ɵ Tellem pair of standing figures, Dogon,... - Lot 39 - Giquello
Ɵ Tellem pair of standing figures, Dogon, Mali 1335-1455 Wood with slightly crusty patina H. 56 and 62 cm Tellem pair of standing figures, Dogon, Mali H. 22 1/8 in and 24 ½ in Provenance: - Philippe Guimiot, Brussels - Reginald Groux, Galerie Noire d'Ivoire, Paris, ca. 1990 - Craft Caravan, New York, ca. 1979 - Private collection Publications: - Arts-Kunst: Primitifs/Primitive/Primitieve IV. Brussels, 1994, publicity Philippe Guimiot - Catalogue of Fishbacher in Paris, November 1990, publicity Galerie Noire d'Ivoire/Reginald Groux - African Arts, 1979, XIII, 1, p. 12. publicity Craft Caravan Inc. Exhibition: - Arts-Kunst: Primitifs/Primitive/Primitieve IV, Brussels, 22 June - 26 June 1994 A holy family The carbon 14 dating of the couple shown here from the Bandiagara cliff in Mali indicates that it was probably carved between 1350 and 1450. Although this was a transitional period when the Dogon coexisted with the primitive Telem, the latter can probably be credited with these sculptures. The very characteristic patina of the three figures in this group corroborates this scientific analysis; it testifies to their long presence in the shelter of one of the many caves dug into the rock, on the Sanga plateau, where Marcel Griaule and his companions established their headquarters during their numerous missions. The very particular style of these works has few equivalents in the corpus of regional statuary. Only the woman's hairstyle and the exaggeratedly swollen lips of the two spouses recall a horsewoman that belonged to the Wunderman collection and was acquired by the Dapper Foundation. A daba bearer from the Menil Collection in Houston, dated to the same period, also bears an obvious resemblance to the man in our couple. If the themes illustrated by these statues, taken individually, are traditional in the iconography of the Dogon Country, the way they are treated is totally outside the classicism of the genre. A farmer, with an adze on his shoulder, is a proven, though relatively rare, representation, but that of his companion does not correspond to the traditional image of the mother, represented with an infant on her lap or on her side. Here the woman's posture, with her hand on the head of her child who is old enough to stand, is as unexpected and moving as this portrait of an ideal family. Also remarkable are the well-proportioned bodies, the arched loins amplifying the round protuberance of their fall, the spine - marked with an elegant groove in the woman - forming with the accentuated angle of the shoulders a particularly harmonious curve. This testimony from the depths of the ages, astonishing and universal, bears the mark of an exceptional talent. Bertrand Goy. Ɵ This lot is on temporary import
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue