Equestrian Figure

Maker Senufo

Maker Dogon

Maker Malian

Label TextRiding a horse is a noble act in West Africa, signaling the arrival of a warrior or leader. This Senufo rider is obviously a warrior, carrying a spear of great length.

Object number81.17.267

Provenance[Ed Primus, Los Angeles, California]; sold to Katherine White (1929-1980), Seattle, Washington, 1961; bequeathed to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1981

Photo CreditPhoto: Paul Macapia

Exhibition HistoryNew York, New York, The Museum of Primitive Art, Senufo Sculpture From West Africa, Feb. 20 - May 5, 1963 (Chicago, Illinois, Art Institute of Chicago, July 12 - Aug. 11, 1963; Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore Museum of Art, Sept. 17 - Oct. 27, 1963). Los 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., pp. 38, 40-41, reproduced pl. 46 (as horse and rider). Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back, Feb. 7 - May 19, 2002 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Oct. 2, 2004 - Jan. 2, 2005; Hartford, Connecticut, Wadsworth Atheneum, Feb. 12 - June 19, 2005; Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Art Museum, Oct. 8, 2005 - Jan. 1, 2006; Nashville, Tennessee, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Jan. 27 - Apr. 30, 2006 [as African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back]). Text by Pamela McClusky. No cat. no., pp. 40-41, reproduced. pl. 16 (as Horse and rider). Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland Museum of Art, Senufo Unbound: Dynamics of Art and Identity in West Africa, Feb. 22 - May 31, 2015 (St. Louis, Missouri, Saint Louis Art Museum, June 28 - Sept. 27, 2015; Montpellier, France, Musée Fabre, Nov. 28, 2015 - Mar. 6, 2016). Text by Susan Elizabeth Gagliardi. Cat. no. 54, reproduced p. 88.

Credit LineGift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

Dimensions11 1/4 x 3 11/16 x 10 11/16 in. (28.5 x 9.3 x 27.2 cm) Overall h.: 12 3/8 in.

MediumWood