Dogon scale Mali - Lot 31

Dogon scale Mali Carved wood- Bright patina 19th century Height : 122 cm Provenance: French private collection --- Loaded with symbolism, the Dogon ladder was not only used to access the terraces of dwellings, or the small door leading to the precious store of millet in the granaries. The aesthetics of its top echo the support pillar on which the Dogon house rests, subtly evoking the "Nommo" with raised arms, a central and fundamental figure in the cosmogony of this ethnic group, imploring rain. Carved from a thick, light-brown trunk in ochre-orange hues, the ladder's wide notches distinguish it from the narrower ones. The top of the steps has a brighter patina, attesting to its repeated use. Its irregular surface, with worn steps that have all but disappeared, creates variations in relief, skilfully accentuating the delicate movement suggested by the slant. A very fine example. ---- Loaded with symbols, the Dogon ladder was not only used to access the terraces of houses, or the small door leading to the precious stock of millet granaries. The aesthetic of its summit is an echo to the pillar of support on which rests the house of the Dogon, subtly evoking the "Nommo" with raised arms, central and fundamental character in the cosmogony of this ethnic group, begging for rain. Cut from a thick light brown trunk, with orange ochre tones, the wide notches of this scale distinguish it from the narrower ones. The top of the steps has a brighter patina indicating repeated use. Its irregular surface with worn steps almost disappeared, creates variations of reliefs, cleverly accentuating the delicate movement suggested in bias. Very good copy. The surface is worn and rubbed, the upper and lower extremities are missing due to age. --- The surface has gaps and rubbing, on the upper and lower extremities there are age-related gaps