{"id":3183,"title":"Equestrian figure","medium":"Wood","classification":"Sculpture, Woodwork","dimension":"28 1/4 x 6 3/4 x 10 1/4 in. (71.8 x 17.1 x 26cm) (overall)\r\n3 x 6 x 7 1/2 in. (7.6 x 15.2 x 19.1cm) (base)","object_name":"Figure","continent":"Africa","country":"Mali","nationality":"Malian","culture":"Djenne","dated":"about 1450","room":"G250","list":"african-art-highlights","role":"Artist","text":"Real or fake? That question has dogged this unique wooden horse rider since it first appeared on the art market. In 1980, X-ray testing and radiocarbon dating of the object indicated that it was carved from a single piece of wood dating from between 1250 and 1450, making it one of the oldest known sub-Saharan wooden sculptures. Additional CAT scans in 2012 confirmed this and showed no evidence of recent restoration. The sculpture is from the Inner Niger Delta in Mali and fuses human dignity with animal strength. Horses were introduced from north of the Sahara to West Africa around 1000 C.E. and soon became prestigious possessions associated with political power and wealth. The figure’s jewelry, weapons, and relative size underscore his importance as a ruler and hunter.","creditline":"Gift of Aimée Mott Butler Charitable Trust, Anne S. Dayton, Mr. and Mrs. Donald C. Dayton, Mr. and Mrs. William N. Driscoll, Clarence G. Frame and Mr. and Mrs. Clinton Morrison","accession_number":"83.168","artist":"Djenne artist","life_date":"Mali","department":"Arts of Global Africa","rights_type":"Public Domain","image_width":2612,"image_height":5236,"recent":0,"see_also":[],"sort_number":"83   168","image":"valid","public_access":1,"curator_approved":1,"highlights":0,"Cache_Location":"003000\\100\\80\\3183","Primary_RenditionNumber":"mia_2009840.jpg","Rights_Image_Display":"Full","list:african-art-highlights":true,"related:audio-stops":[{"title":"Djenne, Equestrian Figure","_id":"3183","objectId":"3183","link":"http://audio-tours.s3.amazonaws.com/p409.mp3","number":"409","type":"audio"}],"related:artstories":[{"title":"Equestrian Figure","_id":"3183","objectId":"3183","description":"<p>It’s not easy to keep horses in West Africa. They need a lot of food, clean water, and exercise—a luxury even for many people here. They also hate heat and humidity and are easy victims of the tsetse fly, carrier of the deadly trypanosomiasis, aka sleeping sickness. Horses were only affordable, in other words, to those who could command resources and labor from others, and became an important accessory of power for rulers of the ancient West African kingdom of Mali. In fact, the Mali Empire, one of the largest and most powerful states in West Africa during the 1300s, owed much of its military advantage to its horses.</p>","link":"http://artstories.artsmia.org/#/o/3183","type":"artstory"}],"mtime":"2026-02-04T06:00:50.797Z"}