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Figure with Raised Arms

Tellem civilization

11th–15th century (?)

Not on view

Later Dogon settlers who encountered Tellem works both appropriated the artifacts for their own altars and also took creative inspiration from them. The few examples of Tellem sculpture found undisturbed by researchers in the twentieth century range from highly abstract to naturalistic representations. Their distinctive gesture of raised arms has been interpreted as a prayer for rain. Such works accrued their thick organic surfaces over the course of successive applications of offerings such as millet porridge or the blood of sacrificial animals.

Figure with Raised Arms, Wood, organic materials, Tellem civilization — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Figure with Raised Arms

Date: 11th–15th century (?)

Geography: Mali

Culture: Tellem civilization

Medium: Wood, organic materials

Dimensions: H. 19 × W. 3 in. (48.3 × 7.6 cm)

Classification: Sculpture-Wood

Credit Line: Private collection

The Met

The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at The Met

The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.