Mansa Musa, King of Mali
Date2001
Artist
Diane Dillon
(American illustrator, born 1933)
Artist
Leo Dillon
(American illustrator, 1933–2012)
Illustration CitationMansa Musa: The Lion of Mali by Khephra Burns (Gulliver Books, Harcourt, Inc., 2001)
MediumGouache on Bristol board
Dimensionscomposition: 6 × 8 1/2 in. (15.2 × 21.6 cm)
sheet: 10 × 12 1/8 in. (25.4 × 30.8 cm)
sheet: 10 × 12 1/8 in. (25.4 × 30.8 cm)
Credit LineAcquisition Fund, 2021
Object number2021-65
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextMansa Musa was a 14th-century king of the Sub-Saharan empire of Mali. He was famous around the world for his immense wealth and territories, as well as the pilgrimage, or Hajj, that he took to Mecca as a devout Muslim. The artists depicted Mansa Musa here as crowned, armored, and on horseback. These traditional attributes of powerful kingship help contemporary American viewers to recognize his historical importance.
