# Fragment of a Kneeling Figure

- By: Niger Delta (Inland Niger Delta region, Mali; Northern Africa and the Sahel)
- Date: 11th-14th century
- Medium: Terracotta
- Classification: Sculpture
- Dimensions: 48 × 23 × 26 cm (18 15/16 × 9 1/16 × 10 1/4 in.)
- Culture: Mali
- Credit line: Maurice D. Galleher, Ada Turnbull Hertle, and Laura R. Magnuson funds
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/100938)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/037e6401-b0bf-a93e-3a0a-1eec498becbe/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Little is known about the meaning and function of the terracotta figures discovered in various sites around the abandoned city of Jenné-Jeno in modern Mali. Archaeological excavations revealed that figures like this partial example were set into the walls and foundations of buildings, suggesting they served a religious purpose. The loincloth and stack of bracelets on this figure indicated high social rank. The snakes wrapping around his torso are common in the iconography of the Inland Niger Delta and undoubtedly had symbolic significance.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0