A Rare Dogon Cliff Painting, Mali

of approximately rectangular shape, the flat stone with three painted abstract figures arranged in triangular form; exceptionally fine aged stone patina with red, black and white charcoal pigment.

Collected in situ by Pierre Langlois, 1951
Galerie Kamer, New York
Werner Muensterberger, New York, acquired form the above in the early 1960s

Warren M. Robbins, African Art in American Collections. L'Art Africain dans les Collections Americaines, New York, Washington and London, 1966, p. 54, fig. 24
George Nelson Preston, "Dr. Werner Muensterberger", Tribal Art, 39, Autumn/Winter 2005, p. 117, fig. 5 

excellent condition overall; minor abrasions to stone on edge (from mounting); exceptionally fine aged stone patina with red, black and white charcoal pigment.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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Unlike three-dimensional art forms, the interest in two-dimensional artistic expression in pre-colonial sub-Saharan Africa was limited and evidence is scarce. One of the few examples are the cliffs in the proximity of the Dogon village Songo where red, white and black pigments applied to stone evoke anthropomorphic, zoomorphic and abstract images. The creation of these paintings accompanies the local rituals surrounding the circumcision of young boys. However, the practice of ritual painting seems to be unique to this location and has not been observed in the rest of Dogon territory. For an in situ photograph of the cliff paintings see Leiris and Delange (1967: 261, fig. 295).

The Muensterberger painting, collected in situ in 1951 and first published in 1966, is one of four paintings known in western collections. The others are: two in the Collection of the Musée du Quai Branly, Paris (formerly Musée de l'Homme, Paris nos. '31.74.2062' and '31.74.2085'; and a third, representing a lizard, which was published in Laude (1973: no. 84).