Horse and Rider

Description

Horse and rider images are common in Dogon art. The theme, in general, connotes wealth, status, and often nobility. Horses are rare in the region and must be imported. Because they are so expensive, they are not used for agricultural purposes but are used, instead, to transport important individuals. This particular sculpture was carved as a copy to an earlier horse and rider taken from a sanctuary at Orosongo to Paris in the 1930s, though it is likely that the latter artist never saw the original. The original was carved in two pieces, while this is carved from one. Its somewhat "cubist" style may have made the copy desirable in the Western market.