Dogon Horse and Rider
$6,500.00
Dogon Horse and Rider
An exceptional and authentically old Dogon Horse and Rider sculpture from Mali/Burkina Faso—one of our favourite pieces in the collection. A commanding work for the serious collector of fine African art. Presented on a custom solid-steel display stand.
Dimensions (including stand):
H 76.5cm × W 50cm × D 15cm
In stock
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Description
Genuine Dogon Horse and Rider
This exceptional hand-carved Horse and Rider figure originates from the Dogon people of Mali and Burkina Faso, one of West Africa’s most historically rich and culturally significant civilizations. It is one of the most prized pieces in our collection—now offered exclusively to the serious collector seeking authentic, old, and culturally grounded African art.
Beautifully preserved, this sculpture carries the unmistakable presence of Dogon craftsmanship: an artistic tradition shaped by centuries of spiritual continuity and geographical isolation.
The Dogon population—approximately 400,000 people—live along the dramatic Bandiagara cliffs, a sandstone escarpment stretching more than 150 miles and rising high above the plains 180 miles south of Timbuktu. Their remote location, harsh climate, and limited external influence have allowed them to preserve ancient religious practices, symbolic carving traditions, and a unique linguistic landscape comprising more than 120 distinct dialects.
Historically hunters, the Dogon later became agriculturalists, cultivating millet, sorghum, wheat, and onion in small fields surrounding their iconic granaries—high, quadrangular mud structures that remain central to their architectural identity.
At the heart of Dogon cosmology is Amma, the supreme creator, and the Nommo, the primordial beings and ancestral spirits. According to Dogon myth, the first Nommo were bisexual water spirits who descended to earth in a celestial ark. These ancestral forces introduced weaving, smithing, agriculture, and social order to humanity.
The Horse and Rider figure holds a powerful place in Dogon tradition. It is believed to represent the seventh Nommo, the divine blacksmith who descended from the heavens after the sacrifice and cosmic scattering of the fifth Nommo. Riding a horse—the first animal said to inhabit the earth—the seventh Nommo brought with him the ancestors of humans, livestock, grains, and technology.
For this reason, horse motifs recur throughout Dogon art, symbolizing creation, cosmic intervention, leadership, and the transfer of sacred knowledge.
Dogon sculpture is renowned for its abstracted forms:
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Ovoid heads
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Squared shoulders
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Tapered limbs
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Parallel forearms and thighs
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Incised hairstyles and symbolic markings
These stylistic features, combined with spiritual depth, make Dogon carvings some of the most compelling and widely collected works in African art.
Dogon figures are used in ceremonies of initiation, education, and cosmological interpretation. Each carving acts as a physical vessel of meaning, decoded differently by each level of initiate. Animal figures—dogs, ostriches, horses, and more—appear on village altars, granary doors, stools, and architectural posts to honor ancestral sacrifices and transmit sacred knowledge.
This Horse and Rider example is a rare, old, and culturally resonant piece—an embodiment of Dogon myth,
