H x W x D: 24.1 x 5.1 x 18.1 cm (9 1/2 x 2 x 7 1/8 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Bougouni area, Mali
Date:
Early to mid-19th century
Label Text:
Presenting only the essentials of the form, a Bamana blacksmith created this minimal image of a horse and rider, elegant in its stylization and simplification. In Mali, iron ore has been smelted and forged since the end of the first millennium B.C. Blacksmiths of the region still forge iron using techniques developed centuries ago. When heated, iron can be hammered into any desired shape. It hardens into a permanent form as it cools. Smiths are regarded as extraordinary for their ability to transform raw iron into tools, weapons and ritual objects.
This sculpture was once part of a longer iron staff. The horse and female rider suggest the rank and power of the chief and the importance of his family. The rider wears a hat like those worn by other important persons: hunters, ritual specialists and the praise singers or historians known as griots. The portrayal of a female rider recalls those Mande women who have acquired power and earned respect through force of character or ability as a sorcerer and are affiliated with hunters' associations. The horse suggests the powerful cavalry of the Bamana kingdoms. Such staffs were displayed on special occasions to commemorate ancestors or placed near areas sacred to initiation associations such as Jo. It was probably used as a marker for a chief's burial.
Description:
Iron staff finial composed of a female figure with flat, conical hat sits astride a horse on a curved saddle. The shaft of the staff is cut off just below the level of the horse's hooves.
Provenance:
J.J. Klejman, New York, 1963
Joseph H. Hirshhorn, Greenwich, Connecticut, 1963 to 1966
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1966 to 1985
Exhibition History:
Heroes: Principles of African Greatness, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 16, 2019–October 3, 2021
Icons: Ideals and Power in the Art of Africa, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 25, 1989-September 3, 1990
Published References:
Cole, Herbert. 1989. Icons: Ideals and Power in the Art of Africa. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, p. 48, no. 53.
National Museum of African Art. 1999. Selected Works from the Collection of the National Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 23, no. 7.
Content Statement:
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