Head

Since the 1970s, there has been a knowledge of a culture developed over the centuries. XI a XVIIin the Niger's inland delta in Mali, lands often flooded between the cities of Timbuktu and Segou. With appeals as style Segou or Bankoni, these terracotta figures are grouped under the general name of “Djenne style“ Djenné is the closest city to archaeological sites, mainly to the most important “Jenné-Jeno” in the Niger Valley. These figures represent men or women, on their knees or on their feet, sometimes sitting on their heels, with their arms folded over their chests or resting along their thighs. The standing figures have their arms stuck along the body. The sculptures of Djenné, with labia thicker than those of Segou, would be related to the soninké.

Small head that appears to be a fragment of a statuette 20 centimetres. By its resemblance to other pieces Djenné could belong to a woman, even lacking hairstyle. This head comes from the small village Dinari in the vicinity of the archaeological sites of Denné Djenno.