FIGURE OF DJENNÉ-JENO KNEELING AND HOLDING A RITUAL VESSEL INNER NIGER DELTA, MALI Terracotta Date: 1300 AD (+/- 15%), Alliance-Science Art certificate by Francine Maurer, dated 15 March 2000 H.: 44 cm (17³?? in.) (Restorations) A Djenne-Jeno kneeling figure holding a ritual vessel, Inner Niger Delta, Mali Provenance: Claude-Henri Pirat, Brussels Jean-Jacques Rotthier Collection (1932–2009), Brussels, then passed down through the family Bibliography: *La condició humana: el somni de d'una ombra*, Institut de Cultura, Museu d’historia de la Ciutat, Lunwerg, Barcelona 2004, p. 88 de Grunne (Bernard), Djenné-Jeno: 1000 Years of Terracotta Sculpture in Mali, Brussels, 2014, cat. no. 71 This remarkable statue depicts a kneeling figure holding in its hands a ritual vase known as a manidaga, a sacred vessel covered with snakes in relief and pustules. Regarded as ointment pots, these objects form part of a very ancient tradition said to date back to the founding myth of the Ghana Empire, according to which Dinga is said to have come from the East bearing magical pots and fetishes. These sacred vessels could serve several purposes: they could be used as altars on which sacrifices were performed, but also for therapeutic and protective purposes, to ensure the health, prosperity and protection of their owner. A DJENNÉ-JENO KNEELING FIGURE HOLDING A RITUAL VESSEL INNER NIGER DELTA, MALI Terracotta Thermoluminescence dating: AD 1300 (±15%), certificate issued by Alliance-Science Art, Francine Maurer, 15 March 2000 H.: 17³?? in. (Restorations) Provenance: Claude-Henri Pirat, Brussels Jean-Jacques Rotthier Collection (1932–2009), Brussels, then by descent Bibliography: *La condició humana: el somni de d'una ombra*, Institut de Cultura, Museu d’historia de la Ciutat, Lunwerg, Barcelona 2004, p. 88 de Grunne (Bernard), Djenné-Jeno: 1000 ans de sculpture en terre cuite au Mali, Brussels, 2014, cat. no. 71 This remarkable sculpture depicts a kneeling figure holding in its hands a ritual vessel known as a manidaga, a sacred container covered with serpents in relief and pustule-like projections. Regarded as ointment pots, these objects belong to a very ancient tradition said to date back to the founding myth of the Ghana Empire, according to which Dinga arrived from the east bearing magical vessels and powerful fetishes. These sacred vessels could serve several functions: they acted as altars upon which sacrifices were performed, but were also used for therapeutic and protective purposes, ensuring the health, prosperity and well-being of their owner.