This dramatic ceramic zoomorphic figure was sculpted by a creative and skillful artisan in the modern Republic of Mali. We know little about the individual culture that created such works. If not for these sculpture, their existence might have been completely forgotten. “Tenenkun,” named after the region where the majority of the sculptures were first unearthed, is used to describe the style. Around the time of its creation, the greater Mali Empire was at its zenith, for by the end of the 12th century the legendary king Sundjita had greatly enlarged both the wealth and size of his territory. Created in such a prosperous and glorious period, the highly stylized rendering of a zoomorphic figure displays a stocky body and legs that evince an aura of strength and fortitude. A dramatic presence that at once commands our attention, this zoomorphic figure expresses the sculptor's distinguished and unique artistic style.