Statue (Tellem).
Mali.
Wood, encrusted materials, (left) height: 40 cm; (right) height: 44 cm.
Private collection.
Before the Dogon, during the 11thand 12thcenturies, the Tellem arrived to the
Bandiagara cliff. Perhaps in request of forgiveness of their faults, the statues
were styled with a raised arm and kept in burial places, unreachable caves from
the cliff. Raising their arms to the sky, it is said that the Tellem had the ability
to fly there.