Equestrian figure

13th to 15th century
Ceramic
Museum purchase, 86-12-2

They fought against the ravages of time—and won.

Low-fired ceramic figures and fragments such as these have been unearthed since the 1940s at various sites throughout the Inland Niger Delta region, an area that once had highly developed cities. These works are among the earliest known surviving art forms in sub-Saharan Africa. By the 15th or 16th century, environmental and political events caused the urban centers of the Delta region to be abandoned, contributing to the demise of the art tradition.
Their elaborate dress suggests ceremonial military attire, and the figures may represent warriors who were once allies of the Malian emperor Sundiata Keita (c. 1217–1255), who lives on in legend, but who also ruled a large swathe of West Africa in historical fact, too.

Photo by Franko L. Khoury, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution