Figure with Four Faces (Ginin)
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Object Label
This type of statue with multiple heads, called ginin, was commissioned by a group of individuals with a shared lineage, to be placed on an ancestral altar. It represents solidarity and the protection of the family, with one face looking in each of the cardinal directions from which danger might come.
Caption
Dogon. Figure with Four Faces (Ginin), late 19th or early 20th century. Wood, iron, sacrificial materials, 14 1/4 in. (32.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Avery Eliscu, 82.155. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Figure with Four Faces (Ginin)
Date
late 19th or early 20th century
Geography
Place made: Bombu-Toro area, Mopti Region, Mali
Medium
Wood, iron, sacrificial materials
Classification
Dimensions
14 1/4 in. (32.6 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Avery Eliscu
Accession Number
82.155
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