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Equestrian and Four Figures
Bankoni (Bougouni region, Mali; Northern Africa and the Sahel)
Probably late 12th-15th century
- Medium
- Terracotta
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Dimensions
- Horse and Rider: 70 × 21 × 48.5 cm (27 1/2 × 8 1/4 × 19 in.); Figures: 28.5 × 14.6 × 19.3 cm (17 1/4 × 5 3/4 × 7 5/8 in.); 46 × 14.7 × 19 cm (18 × 5 7/8 × 7 1/2 in.); 44 × 10.2 × 18.5 cm (17 1/4 × 4 × 7 1/4 in.); 28.5 × 12.7 × 18.4 cm (17…
- Culture
- Mali
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Africa
- Credit line
- Ada Turnbull Hertle Endowment
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Terracotta figures like this set might have served a ritual purpose. The adornment on the figures, including the hairstyles and possible scarification marks, suggest status and wealth. The horse-and-rider with a knife strapped to his left arm (1987.314.1) may evoke the significant role that cavalry played in the expansion of empires and control of trade routes in West Africa during past centuries.
The descriptive term Bankoni derives from the village where archaeologists unearthed similar objects from the 1950s onward. Located near Bamako, Mali’s capital, this region is today inhabited by the Bamana people, whose ancestors are believed to have made works in a similar style. These five figures were not excavated in a scientific context but recent tests and scans have helped to confirm their age and regional origins.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
