Kneeling female figure with three children

Upon their arrival in the Bandiagara Escarpment in the fifteenth century, Dogon settlers encountered the complex sculptural traditions of Tellem artists. Inspired by these ancient forms, the Dogon incorporated Tellem artifacts into their altars and drew on these as inspiration for new creations. The distinctive gesture of arms raised to the heavens found on many Tellem and Dogon altar sculptures has been interpreted as a prayer for rain. Through sustained emphasis on that body language, Tellem and Dogon blacksmiths produced a vast corpus of figures that vary in style from highly abstract to more naturalistic. Successive surface applications of offerings—millet porridge or the blood of sacrificial animals—has created a thick patina of organic material. The layering of these libations was likely intended to ensure a successful harvest.