Three West African Bronzes

Bronze, brass, and iron have been worked in a vast range of forms across Africa for centuries. Alongside large pieces such as currency objects, weapons, and bodily ornaments, the forges of Africa produced a wide variety of small works in metal, including figurines. Some bronze miniatures were used as goldweights and played a utilitarian role in trade, while others were used as talismans. Of this latter group, one of the foremost producers were the Kotoko, who participated in this tradition with a number of other cultures in and around the Sahara Desert.

Kotoko artists, living in the vicinity of Lake Chad, used the lost-wax technique to cast small figurines that were kept as personal amulets. Worn around an owner’s neck or carried by hand or in a small pouch, they safeguarded their owners against outward threats as well as inner perils, such as anxiety and mental illness. Many of these amulets depict horse riders and archers, and are known as putchu guinadj. These images are deeply rooted in a regional history of horse-mounted warfare which greatly affected the Kotoko, and their potency as magical and mythological symbols allow them to quell spirits which cause weakness of soul, sadness, fear, and alienation. They were often hung from necklaces and bracelets along with other items of protection and propitiation, such as cowrie shells, leather gri-gri amulets, and bells.

The figurines presented here show a range of the figural styles of the Saharan region. All were crafted using a similar method of shaping and application to produce simplified, abstracted forms. A Dogon example depicts a seated man, while a standing Senufo figurine shows slender, wavy arms and legs, a crested coiffure, and applied knobs at the pectorals, navel, and pubis. The sole putchu guinadj in the group features a thick-bodied horse with rider holding its reins, sword slung along one flank.

Equestrian figure:  Kotoko, Hadjer-Lamis or Chari-Baguirmi Regions, Chad, or Far North Region, Cameroon      SOLD

Seated figure: Dogon, Mali or Burkina Faso    SOLD

Standing figure: Senufo, Côte d'Ivoire or Mali

Late 19th or early 20th century
Bronze
H: 2 3/4", 3", 2 3/4"
Provenance:

Standing and seated figures: Gary L. Schultze Collection, New York

Item Number:
665
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