West Africa, Mali, Dogon, ca. 19th to 20th century CE. A hand-carved ladder formed from a naturally forked branch or tree trunk, with six notches carved onto the main body. The tips of the fork have been shaved, and this cleft would function as a handhold if this ladder was used as intended. Such ladders 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. This piece has developed a nice weathered appearance over the course of its history! Size: 14" W x 69" H (35.6 cm x 175.3 cm)
Provenance: private Houston, Texas, USA collection, purchased from dealers, beginning in the late 1980s to as recently as 2017
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#163120
Condition
Nicks, chips, and cavities. Losses to verso. Old inactive insect cavities. Stable pressure cracks and fissures. Weathering and patina from age and use.