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Dolo, the blacksmith, Ogol du Haut village, Mali

National Museum of African Art

Object Details

Local Numbers
EENG-VII-16, 17.
General
Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note
Typed index card reads, "H 1 Dgn. Dogon. Mali, Ogol du Haut. Dolo, the blacksmith. Forging iron tools. His 14 year old son, Samuel works the goatskin bellows. 1/1971. EE. neg.no. VII-16, 17." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.
Photographer
Elisofon, Eliot
Collection Photographer
Elisofon, Eliot
Place
Africa
Mali
Occupation
Artists
Topic
Vernacular architecture
Tools
Baskets
Photographer
Elisofon, Eliot
Culture
Dogon (African people)
See more items in
Eliot Elisofon Field collection
Eliot Elisofon Field collection / Mali
Extent
1 Negatives (photographic) (b&w, 35mm.)
Date
1971
Archival Repository
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
Identifier
EEPA.1973-001, Item EEPA EENG 02925
Type
Archival materials
Negatives (photographic)
Black-and-white negatives
Negatives
Collection Citation
Eliot Elisofon Field Collection, EEPA 1973-001, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
Collection Rights
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Genre/Form
Black-and-white negatives
Negatives
Scope and Contents
"Blacksmiths, irine, and their wives, live amongst the Dogon, although their houses are always at the peripheries of a settlement. When a smith wishes to establish himself, after years of apprenticeship with his father, he requests dwelling and forge space from the village of his choice. Aside from their integral role in the Dogon economy, blacksmiths are responsible for carving ritual statues in wood, and their wives make the pots, wone, used in ancestral shrines, but do not make other pots." [Lane P., 1988: Settlement as History: A Study of Space and Time amog the Dogon of Mali, University of Cambridge]. The photograph depicts Dolo, the blacksmith and wood carver of Ogol du Haut village, and his son forging iron tools. During his trip to Mali, Elisofon visited the Dogon people in the Sanga region. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Westinghouse Film and traveled to Africa from October 26, 1970 to end of March 1971.
Collection Restrictions
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1536870822481-1536871015152-4
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/xo73437807d-a9b7-49d8-938c-83081225e587

Related Content

  • Eliot Elisofon Field collection

Dolo, the blacksmith, Ogol du Haut village, Mali
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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