Mali Equestrian Figure (13th–15th Century)

Mali Equestrian Figure (13th–15th Century)

AP African American Studies Guide

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Topic 1.5

Mali Equestrian Figure by an Unknown Sculptor (13th–15th Century)

Stylized clay sculpture of an armored soldier on a horse.


Source: An equestrian figure from Mali by an unknown sculptor, 13th–15th century (National Museum of African Art Collection, Smithsonian Institution)

Discussion Questions

  1. What type of scene or situation does this sculpture depict? What makes you think so?
  2. Mali people obtained horses through trans-Saharan trade routes. What kinds of advantages did horses provide to their owners? 
  3. What are the similarities and differences between the Mali Equestrian Figure and the portrayal of Mansa Musa, the fourteenth-century ruler of the Mali Empire, in the Catalan Atlas?