A large, beautiful statue of a standing figure resting on an ancient fragment of a jar, characterized by long, slender arms covered with ornamentation and framing a slender torso. The small head with its long, straight nose and half-open mouth is characteristic of the style. According to Bernard de Grunne, standing statuary in terracotta sculpture is particularly rare, suggesting that this work may have been used in ancient initiation rites similar to those of the large proto-Bamana wooden statuary (Terres cuites anciennes de l'ouest africain, 1980, p. 17). Bankoni, Mali Dating: 1124 - 1474 A.D. Thermoluniscence test, Alliance Science Art - Francine Maurer, Ref : 14.11.28 - TL 5101 (25 / 05 / 1994) Red-orange terracotta, visible clean, jointed breaks (original parts), visible old missing parts, notably the right breast. H. Height : 71 cm Provenance : - Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels - Marc Blanpain Collection, Brussels Publications and Exhibitions : - Schaedler, Earth and Ore. 2500 Years of African Art in Terra-cotta and Metal, 1997, p. 68, no. 83, Burgrieden-Rot, Museum Villa Rot, June - November 1998 - Bacquart, The Tribal Arts of Africa / L'Art tribal d'Afrique noire, 1998, p. 59, n° #C - Leurquin, "La piste du serpent" in Tribal Arts, Spring 1999, p. 72, n° 16 - Grunne (de), Dreams of beauty. African Sculptures from the Blanpain Collection, 2005, no. 4, Luxembourg, Banque Générale du Luxembourg, October 25 - December 2, 2005