Statue - Djenné - Mali (No reserve price)

This intriguing terracotta sculpture was made by the people of Djenné, in Mali. It represents a male figure. The material was worked with great mastery by Djenné artisans, whose craftsmanship gave rise to remarkable works in the art of ceramics.

Formerly a prosperous city and an important commercial center in the region, Djenné was located in the inner delta of the Niger River, at the heart of the Mali Empire between the 12th and 16th centuries. The Djenné civilization is considered one of the precursors of the Dogon of Mali.

Capital of the cercle of the same name, Djenné lies about 130 km southwest of Mopti, the regional capital, and about 570 km northeast of Bamako, the national capital. It is among the oldest towns in sub-Saharan Africa. Inhabited since the 3rd century BCE, Djenné became a major market and an important center of trans-Saharan gold trade.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the city also played a key role in the diffusion of Islam. It is distinguished by the remarkable use of earth as a construction material, notably in its architecture. Djenné is particularly famous for its Great Mosque, its civil buildings, its monumental houses with carefully elaborated façades, and its unique urban fabric.

Traditional dwellings, designed to adapt to seasonal flooding, are built on small elevations. The annual floods of the Niger and its tributaries are indeed an essential natural phenomenon, both for the Djenné region and for the entire inner Niger delta.