Horse puppet

Label TextThe rider of this horse made the most of its absurd proportions by acting as a ritual buffoon, mocking a warrior's bravado before a crowd that enjoyed parodies of powerful leaders. Shooting with a wooden machine gun or brandishing a toy sword in the air, the warrior was one of several characters subjected to the satire of Bamana actors. Collector Katherine White (who bought the horse from a Malian trader) envisioned a lively counterpart in Spanish literature: "This is the horse that an African Don Quixote would ride."

Object number81.17.28

Provenance[Sulaiman Diané, New York]; purchased from gallery by Katherine White (1929-1980), Seattle, Washington, 1972; bequeathed to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1981

Exhibition HistoryLos Angeles, California, Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery, University of California, African Art in Motion: Icon and Act, Jan. 20 - Mar. 17, 1974 (Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, May 5 - Sept. 22, 1974). Text by Robert Farris Thompson. No cat. no., p. 79, reproduced fig. C-1. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Five Installations on the Fourth Floor: Horses, June 26, 1997.

Credit LineGift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

Dimensions12 3/8 x 5 1/4 in. (31.5 x 13.3 cm) L.: 28 1/2 in.

MediumWood, fabric, metal, string, and hair