Cleveland Museum of Art

Male Figure

Date

possibly 1300s–1600s

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Africa, West Africa, Mali, probably Djenné-Djenno, Inland Niger Delta culture-style maker

Department

African Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Figures like this would have been used in rituals by the ancestors of the present-day inhabitants of the Inland Niger Delta. Representing the gods and kings or queens associated with the region’s former residents, the figures received prayers and offerings in exchange for their support. The seated position of this male has been interpreted as a harmful pose intended to bring death to an individual. While we don’t know who made this work, it can be hypothesized that it was a woman; today, as in much of Africa, potters in Mali are female.

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