Existing comment:
Legendary.
They fought against the ravages of time -- and won.
Low-fired ceramic figures and fragments such as these have been unearthed since the 1940s at various sites throughout the Inland Niger Delta region, an area that once had highly developed cities. These works are among the earliest known surviving art forms in sub-Saharan Africa. By the 15th or 16th century, environmental and political events caused the urban centers of the Delta region to be abandoned, and the art tradition did not survive. The earliest known written reference to such figures is found in a letter of 1447. In it, a visiting Italian merchant remarked that the figures were kept in sanctuaries and venerated as representing the deified ancestors of famous founding rulers of the region. The elaborate dress of the figures suggests ceremonial military attire, and they may represent warriors who were once allies of the Malian emperor Sundiata Keita (c. 1217–1255).
Don't cross this woman warrior. The rider wears a hat like those worn by other important persons in the Mande world, including hunters, ritual specialists, and the praise singers and historians known as griots. The portrayal of a female rider, in particular, recalls those women who acquired power and earned respect through force of character or ability as a sorcerer and are affiliated with hunters' associations. The horse suggests the historical memory of the powerful cavalry that dominated Mali for centuries. Such staffs were displayed on special occasions to commemorate ancestors or placed near areas sacred to powerful Bamana religious groups. This sculpture was once part of a longer iron staff, likely carried by a Bamana chief. |