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Seated couple

18th–early 19th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 341
This work's scale and complexity have led scholars to suggest that it may have been created for display at the funerals of influential Dogon men. The graphic composition constitutes an eloquent statement concerning the distinct and yet complementary roles of male and female partners as a unit of life. With understated elegance and an economy of details, the artistic distills man and woman to a perfectly integrated and harmonious union. One of the most striking aspects of the representation is the degree of bilateral symmetry that describes man and woman as reflections of each other with delicate and subtle departures that indicate their distinct identities. The figures' elongated bodies are depicted as a series of parallel vertical lines traversed by horizontals that draw them together. On the reverse side a small child clinging to the female's back is balanced by a quiver on the back of the male. That concluding pair of features distinguishes their respective role as nurturer and provider joined together to procreate and sustain life.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Seated couple
  • Artist: "Barnes Foundation Master" (active late 18th–early 19th century[?], Bandiagara Escarpment, Mali)
  • Date: 18th–early 19th century
  • Geography: Mali, Bandiagara Escarpment
  • Culture: Dogon
  • Medium: Wood, copper and iron alloy, applied organic materials
  • Dimensions: H. 28 3/4 × W. 8 5/8 × D. 8 in. (73 × 21.9 × 20.3 cm)
  • Classification: Wood-Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Gift of Lester Wunderman, 1977
  • Object Number: 1977.394.15
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

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