Tell 'em figure - wood - Mali

The Bandiagara Escarpment is a majestic stretch of sandstone cliffs that cuts across present-day central Mali between the Niger River and the Burkina Faso border. Rising over 1,500 feet in some areas, the Bandiagara is one of the most striking landforms in sub-Saharan Africa and serves as a natural protective barrier against foreign invasions and a natural refuge for wood sculptures created by successive interconnected cultures. The Dogon people arrived in the region around the 15th century and have since thrived by building their villages on the steep cliff face along the escarpment.

Old American Collection