An important and beautiful statue of a horseman, characteristic of the great Djenné classical art. The animal's physical characteristics and harness suggest that it is a buffalo rather than a horse. The figure is adorned with all the emblematic ornaments and scarification marks, as well as rich warrior equipment. A beautiful, full polychrome decoration enhances the visual impact of this major work in the corpus. Djenné civilization, Mali Date :1050 - 1250 A.D. (ASA TL510191) Smooth, light-colored terracotta, small old black concretions visible, old missing parts visible, slight surface erosion, extensive and beautiful polychromy with red ochre motif. H. Height : 43 cm Provenance : - Kabiné Djanné, Abidjan, before 1968 - 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. 54, no. 63, Burgrieden-Rot, Museum Villa Rot, June - November 1998 - Bacquart, The Tribal Arts of Africa / L'Art tribal d'Afrique noire, 1998, p. 55 and 58, no. #A - Grunne (de), Dreams of Beauty. African Sculptures from the Blanpain Collection, 2005, no. 17, Luxembourg, Banque Générale du Luxembourg, October 25 - December 2, 2005 - Grunne (de), Djenné-Jeno. 1000 ans de sculpture en terre cuite au Mali / Djenné-Jeno. 1000 years of terracotta statuary in Mali, 2014, no. 248 - Grunne (de) and Van Dyke, Mande. Trésors millénaires / Ancient treasures, 2016, p. 69, n° 15, Bruxelles, Ancienne Nonciature, June 8-12, 2016