# Male Figure

- By: Dogon (Mali)
- Date: Possibly 18th century
- Medium: Wood and sacrificial material
- Classification: Sculpture
- Dimensions: 99.7 × 15.6 × 16.6 cm (39 1/4 × 6 1/8 × 6 1/2 in.)
- Culture: Mali
- Credit line: Janie Brill Memorial Fund; Major Acquisitions Centennial Endowment
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/144353)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/045a2786-9d14-854e-f98e-fb348500d4c4/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Made for a large altar honoring ancestors, this figure’s crusty surface resulted from repeated ritual applications of sacrificial materials including animal blood, millet porridge, plant juice, and oil, infusing it with a vital energy. Its braided hairstyle, thin beard, amulet-pendant, and ritual staff (on his left shoulder) suggest that this figure portrays a high-ranking man. The extremely dry environment of the cave where it was stored helped to preserve it.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0