Claude-Henri Pirat, Brussels

Jean-Jacques Rotthier Collection (1932–2009), Brussels, then by descent

La condició humana: el somni de d'una ombra, Institut de Cultura, Museu d'historia de la Ciutat, Lunwerg, Barcelone 2004, p. 88

de Grunne (Bernard), Djenné-Jeno : 1000 ans de sculpture en terre cuite au Mali, Brussels, 2014, cat. n° 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.