Art of the Dogon: Selections from the Lester Wunderman Collection

Art of the Dogon: Selections from the Lester Wunderman Collection

Ezra, Kate
1988
116 pages
80 illustrations
8.5 x 11 in
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The sculpture of the Dogon people of Mali constitutes one of the richest artistic traditions of West Africa and is a highlight of the Metropolitan Museum's permanent collection of African art. This handsome book features sixty-three of the finest pieces of Dogon art collected by Lester Wunderman, several of which have been donated to the Museum's permanent collection. The text, written by the Museum's assistant curator of primitive art, incorporates the most up-to-date research and thinking on the complex subject of ritual art and on the context in which Dogon sculpture was originally produced and used. Each piece has been especially photographed for this volume and is accompanied by a detailed discussion of its function, style, and significance. Also included are maps, a bibliography, and more than eighty photographs, some of them taken in the field by Eliot Elisofon and Lester Wunderman.

Male figure, Dogon blacksmith, Wood, Dogon peoples (?)
Dogon blacksmith
12th–17th century
Figure Group, Wood, Soninke or Dogon peoples
Soninke or Dogon peoples
16th–19th century
Fragment of Figure, Wood, pigment, nail, staple, glue, Dogon peoples
Dogon peoples
16th–20th century
Female figure with mortar and pestle, Dogon blacksmith, Wood, iron, Dogon peoples
Dogon blacksmith
16th–early 20th century
Kneeling female figure with twin children and serpent, Tellem or Dogon blacksmith, Wood, applied organic materials, Dogon or Tellem  peoples (?)
Tellem or Dogon blacksmith
15th– 19th century
Figure: Mother with Twins, Wood, Dogon peoples
Dogon peoples
16th–20th century
Female dege dal nda (sculpture of the terrace), Master of Ogol, Wood, Dogon peoples
Master of Ogol
18th–19th century
Figure: Seated Male (Nommo), Wood, Dogon peoples
Dogon peoples
16th–20th century
Figure, Wood, sacrificial materials, Dogon or Tellem  peoples (?)
Dogon or Tellem peoples (?)
16th–20th century
Double plank figure with raised arms, Wood, applied organic materials, Dogon or Tellem  peoples (?)
Dogon or Tellem peoples (?)
16th–19th century
Seated Figure (Dyongou Serou), Wood, sacrificial materials, Dogon peoples
Dogon peoples
16th–early 20th century
Seated couple, Barnes Foundation Master, Wood, copper and iron alloy, applied organic materials, Dogon
Barnes Foundation Master
18th–early 19th century
Figure: Seated Couple, Wood, metal, Dogon peoples
Dogon peoples
16th–20th century
Imina kanaga (kanaga masquerade vest), Dogon artist, Cotton, cowrie shells, glass beads, plastic beads, Dogon peoples
Dogon artist
20th century
Mask (Sim), Wood, palm rib, hide, fiber, pigment, Dogon peoples
Dogon peoples
19th–20th century
Imina walu (buffalo or roan antelope face mask), Dogon artist, Wood, pigment, Dogon peoples
Dogon artist
First half of 20th century
Imina Samana (Samana warrior face mask), Dogon artist, Wood, pigment, iron, Dogon peoples
Dogon artist
First half 20th century
Figure: Ostrich, Wood, iron, Dogon peoples
Dogon peoples
16th–20th century
Dogon togu na support post with male and female figures, Mande blacksmith, Wood, metal, Dogon peoples
Mande blacksmith
19th–20th century
Shutter with breasts, Dogon blacksmiths, Wood, iron, Dogon peoples
Dogon blacksmiths
Late 19th–mid-20th century
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Wunderman, Lester, Kate Ezra, and Metropolitan Museum of Art, eds. 1988. Art of the Dogon: Selections from the Lester Wunderman Collection; [Exhibition Art of the Dogon Held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from February 11 through July 10, 1988]. New York, NY: Abrams.