The Dogon is an ethnic group mainly located in Mali, West Africa. This Dogon maternity figure is a fine piece of art carved out of wood.

To the Dogon people, it represents symbolically, feminine beauty and fertility. Dogon statues as this are mostly found in shrines and used as objects of petition and prayers, for fertility and successful births.

They represent real or mythical ancestors. This Dogon maternity figure portrays a mother in a seated position, holding a baby and carrying another on her back. Similar to most Dogon maternity sculptures, the babies carved take the form of a small adult, rather than an infant with rounded features.