Architectural element (support post) Toguna, Dogon, Mali - Lot 39

Architectural element (support post) Toguna, Dogon, Mali Early 20th century Carved wood Height: 148 cm Provenance : Collected in the 1970s by a French family living in Mali By descent Olivier Castellano Collection, Paris Private collection, France ----- Toguna Architectural element, Dogon, Mali Early XX° century Carved wood Height: 148 cm Provenance: Collected in the 1970s by a French family living in Mali By descent Collection Olivier Castellano, Paris Private collection, France A very fine example, the softness of the intense shiny brown patina with its orange tones, is matched by the generosity of the earth's fertility, Nommo implored by the schematized arms, raised towards the sky forming a Y, by the generous full chest falling like a shell, animating the bust and the whole silhouette of the pillar. "The aesthetic judgment of a culture is the unconscious judgment of forms and the relationship between them, independent of any moral or functional system. This independence from other systems of thought is expressed in traditional art." Hans Guggenheim, (Invisible Technology, In. Tiers-monde, tome 19, N°73, Environnement et aménagement en Afrique, p.171) Jean Laude, the French aesthetician, gives priority to the evolution of the forms of Dogon sculptures, "from which derives the myth, which often explains them". This aesthetic judgement can only highlight the close relationship between man and his environment, which is apparent and vibrant in all artistic forms: from dance, to architecture and sculpture, to sculpture as an element of architecture, such as this exceptional Toguna post, a support for the emblematic place where the words and wisdom of the elders were exchanged, with its strong symbolism. Pillar of the "men's shelter", togu nà, decorated with a female figure with round breasts. It was in this place of "wise words" overlooking the main village square that men, old and young, gathered to discuss all matters of interest to the community (Paudrat in Dogon, Paris, Editions Dapper, 1994, p.13). The deliberately low ceiling of the togu nà reminded everyone of the measure and humility to be maintained in this place; one could not stand upright. the deeply ambivalent figure of the water genie Nommo, responsible for rainfall but also for drowning and lightning strikes, is thus metamorphosed into a "god" or mythical hero who is uniquely beneficent, reorganizer or savior of the world, master of speech and promoter of culture, after concealing his negative or worrying traits as the embodiment of wild nature (See Éric Jolly, "Dogon virtuels et contre-cultures", L'Homme, no 211, 2004, p. 41-74). The togu-na shelter or shed, initially presented by ethnologists as a cool, shady place where men gathered to rest, work or talk, also changed definition after the war, becoming, to the exclusion of all other functions, a peaceful place for consultation, a "council shelter" or, later, a "house of the word" whose archetype would or should comprise eight pillars supposedly representing the eight mythical ancestors consulting or deliberating together (See Éric Jolly, "La tradition orale en image : genèse de deux emblèmes culturels dogon", in G. Ciarcia, É. Jolly (eds.), Métamorphoses de l'oralité entre écrit et image, Paris-Montpellier, Karthala-MSH-Montpellier, 2015, p. 111-128). ---- Very beautiful copy, to the sweetness of the intense brown brilliant patina with orange tones, responds the generosity of the fertility of the earth, Nommo implored by the schematized arms, raised towards the skies forming a Y, by the generous and full chest falling in shell animating the bust and all the silhouette of the pillar. The aesthetic judgment of a culture is the unconscious judgment of forms and the relationship between them, independent of any moral or functional system. This independence from other thought systems is expressed in traditional art." Hans Guggenheim, (Invisible Technology, In. Tiers-monde, tome 19, N°73, Environnement et aménagement en Afrique, p.171). Jean Laude, the French beautician, gives priority to the evolution of the forms of the Dogon sculptures, "from which derives the myth, which often explains them". This aesthetic judgement can only bring to light the close relationship between man and his environment, which is transparent, appears, vibrates in all artistic forms: from dance, architecture, sculpture, until sculpture becomes an element of architecture, as this exceptional potheToguna, support, of the emblematic place where the words and wisdom of the ancients were exchanged, with strong symbolism. Pillar of th