Depictions of motherhood as the promotion of fertility is common in African and specifially Dogon sculpture. This wooden sculpture depicts a kneeling mother. A child sits on her erect thigh, his arms held close to his sides. The proportions of the child seem to depict the body of a miniature adult rather than a child. Maternity figures were commisioned to express a prayer to be blessed with children and were placed on altars as an expression of the patron's prayer.