West Africa, Mali, Dogon, ca. 1950s CE. A hand-carved wooden ladder with five notches carved onto the main body. This ladder is formed from a naturally forked branch or tree trunk, and the tips of both arms have been shaved and would function as natural handholds if used as intended. This ladder may have been used daily for accessing the house or granary, but ladders also served a votive function. Ritualistically ladders like this were leaned against the family altar, wherein the spirit of their ancestral head would lie, so that the chiefs of the family as well as the spirits of their deceased ancestors could climb the carved notches in order to reach the realm of the afterlife. Size: 12" W x 53" H (30.5 cm x 134.6 cm); 55" H (139.7 cm) on included custom stand.
Provenance: private Houston, Texas, USA collection, purchased from Gite Gallery of African Art, Houston, Texas, USA in 2012
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#162893
Condition
Losses and chips to steps as shown. Weathering and surface abrasions as expected with age and use. Nice patina!