Tribal Art

A figure of a horseman, sculpted in the round, surmounts the Yoruba Sango-type staff. It glorifies a deified ancestor. The equine, rare in the region, was also an attribute of prestige which was reserved for the nobility and the sovereigns. Centered on the veneration of its gods, or orisà , the Yoruba religion is based on artistic sculptures with coded messages (aroko). They are designed by the sculptors at the request of the followers, soothsayers and their clients. These spirits are supposed to intercede with the supreme god Olodumare. Chipped polychromy, semi-satin patina.
Height on base: 74 cm.
The Yoruba, more than 20 million, occupy southwestern Nigeria and the central and southeastern region of Benin under the name of Nago. They are patrilineal, practice excision and ...

In de Afrikaanse kunst van het midden van Benoué, waar volkeren leven die zijn gegroepeerd onder de naam Mama (Kantana, Montol en Goemai), worden de antropo-zoömorfische beelden geassocieerd met de Mangam-cultus die deze groepen delen, gekenmerkt door een gestileerd hoofd, dat, in dit exemplaar heeft een kam die in profiel de boog van de kaak volgt. De volumes die robuustheid en krachtige energie uitdrukken, kunnen worden gerelateerd aan de Chamba, een naburige etnische groep.

Glanzend gouden patina, inheemse restauratie, erosies.

Net als de maskers worden de beelden binnen de etnische groep gebruikt door de leden van een mannelijke vereniging die verantwoordelijk is voor het handhaven van de sociale orde en het verhogen of bevorderen van de landbouwproductie. ...

Miniature in silver and bronze alloy depicting a rider on his mount, which represents an exceptional attribute of prestige in the arid regions of the Sahel. This talisman constitutes, for the Sao, a protection against madness. The rider symbolizes the genius who possesses the madman, the horse representing the victim.
Between the 12th and 14th centuries, the Sao, ancestors of the Kotoko, were established on hills in the border regions of Chad, northern Cameroon and Nigeria, in order to repel invaders. Subjected to successive attacks from their neighbors in Kanem and then to hordes from the East, the Sao had to abandon their lands to settle in the North-West of Cameroon where they mixed with the natives, thus giving birth to the Kotokos. The Kotoko still attribute today to the ...

French tribal art collection.
The Baga Nimba mask, is characterized by a buzzed nose evoking a bird's beak, an incised hair divided by a crest. This national symbol can reach up to 50 kg in its largest versions. Real name Demba / D'mba (or Nimba in baga language), it represents the nurturing woman, but it also evokes the bird, especially the fertility of the calao thanks to its beak-shaped nose. Supposed to increase harvests, arouse pregnancies, it is exhibited at various ceremonies, celebrations and funerals, and its use continues at present during important festivities. The wearer of the mask is wrapped in raffia and conducts a dance clocked to the rhythm of drums. This miniature copy of the classic mask has adopted over the years a matte patina, clear, nuanced dark, the eroded ...

African Ci Wara crest mask of the Bambara, Bamana, chiselled with motifs representing the coat of a male antelope, "ci wara" or "wild animal of the earth".
Medium brown, velvety patina. Resin residues. Desication cracks.
Established in central and southern Mali, the Bambara, "Bamana" or "unbelievers", as the Muslims have called them, belong to the large Mande group, like the Soninke and the Malinke. Sculpted by the blacksmith numu, who also plays the role of diviner and healer, this crest embodies the animal - genius Ciwara who is said to have taught the Bambara to cultivate the land. Worn at the top of the skull and held in place by a basketry hat, these crests accompanied the dancers during the rituals of the tòn, an association dedicated to agricultural work. The masks ...

Rare sculpture-altar, or clan totem, large, embodying the rooster, spirit of the bush and sacrificial animal also symbolizing combativeness. The light wood is painted with polychrome motifs. Matte patina, abrasions and desication cracks. The African masks and sculptures of the Bobo, Bwa, Kurumba and Mossi, living in Burkina Faso, frequently take up and combine stylized elements borrowed from men, animals or even insects. It is the spirits of nature who are believed to determine an individual's well-being and prosperity, and adversity will be seen as the result of neglect of collective rituals. It is therefore during different celebrations that the mask will personify a spirit of nature or that of an ancestor in order to influence the daily lives of members of the ethnic group. They appear ...

Among the African regalia, this prestigious object invokes the protection of the spirits of the ancestors thanks to the figures carved in high relief. Supported by a crocodile, a deep lidded vessel is surmounted by figures seated back to back. Brown patina rubbed with kaolin. Slight desication cracks. erosions.
The Tschokwe, of Bantu culture, had settled in eastern Angola, but also in Congo and Zambia. Following various alliances, they mixed with the Lunda who taught them hunting. Their social organization also rubbed off on Tschokwe society. The Tschokwe however ended up dominating over the Lunda whose kingdom was dismantled at the end of the 19th century. Elephants in the region were hunted for meat, but also for ivory which was for sale and not the wide range of prestige ...

Sporting an emaciated double face surmounting a long neck, this sculpture of a female bust with folded arms, erect and surrounded by cords, offers a double chest which constitutes its base. Various elements have been added: vegetable fiber cords, glass bead buckles, black metal ornaments. Losses, erosions and cracks from use.
br>"Mani" is a diminutive meaning "little person" which qualifies the human-faced African puppets used by the Bambara and Markha during didactic shows. This tradition of puppet theater is common to the multi-ethnic peoples living in the interior delta of the Niger, including the Bozo, in particular in the region of Ségou where it is called "sogobo". The Markha, also called Warka, live in the north of Bambara territory and have therefore been influenced by ...

This mask surmounted by a high flat and curved blade is one of the many stylistic variations of Dogon masks. Yellow ocher patina, colored highlights. Desication rings and cracks.
More than eighty types of African masks are listed among the Dogon, the best known of which are the Kanaga, Sirigé, Satimbé, Walu. Most of them are used by circumcised initiates of the Awa society, during funeral ceremonies. The Awa designates the masks, their costumes, and all the Dogons in the service of the masks. Some evoke animals, in reference to the rich cosmogony and mythology of African Dogon art. The "nyama", the mask's vital force, is activated by various rituals in order to develop the object's full magical potential.

Collection of African Belgian art.
This African mask was used during the tribal ritual of the Elanda male society. Mask embodying the god Alunga, this panel structure has double orbits and a diamond-shaped mouth. Evocation of a spirit of the forest, this mask was kept in the sacred caves. They appeared in various guises during the Bwami circumcision and initiation ceremonies.
Matte patina, ocher beige kaolin residue, bluish highlights.
Desication cracks, native restoration.
The Bembe ethnic group is a Luba branch that left the Congo in the 18th century. Their society and artistic tendency are marked by the influence of their neighbors in the Lake Tanganyika region, the Lega, the Buyu, etc. Indeed, like the Lega, the Bembe had a bwami association responsible for ...

Two narrow faces traversed by a long rectangular nose are joined at the top by a crest. The features, underlined by inlaid brass leaves, form the specificity of the marka sculptures. Signs of use, old matte patina, desication cracks, erosions.
The Marka , Maraka in Bamana, Warka , or Sarakolé, are Muslim city dwellers of Soninke origin, established in southern Niger, scattered since the end of the Ghana Empire in Mali, Mauritania and Senegal. They now speak Bamana and have adopted many of the Bambara traditions, such as the Ntomo and the Koré, initiation societies that used masks during their ceremonies. The Bambara and Marka African art sculptors are part of the Numuw, who are not tied to an ethnic group and are free to settle wherever they wish.

An emaciated face, with arched, globular eyelids, and a mouth revealing the teeth, distinguish this punu mask depicting an elderly person. A surprising headdress, radiating around the forehead, develops into quarters. The traditional scarifications are cut in strong projection. (missing on one end of one of the shells) Velvety matte patina.

The white masks of Gabon, itengi, (pl. bitengi) were associated with the various secret societies of Gabon, including the Bwiti, Bwete, and the Mwiri ("to lead"), the latter ranging in several levels of initiation, to which all Punu men belonged, and whose emblem was the caiman (hence, for some, the saurian scale motif). These powerful secret societies, which also had a judicial function, featured several dances, including the leopard ...

African art and the spectacular crest masks of the Igbo ethnic group.
African mask Igbo Agbogo Mmwo, called a young girl's mask, adopting local criteria glorifying youth and beauty, slanted eyes, emaciated face coated in white, scarifications and tattoos in checkered or in ornamental pellets. The headdress represents braided hair mixed with accessories. The white color of the mask relates to ancestral spirits, these masks frequently accompanying the deceased during funeral rites. Indeed, mmwo means "spirit of the dead". Polychrome patina.
The Igbo live in the forest in southeastern Nigeria. The religion of the Igbo includes on the one hand the god Chuku , supreme creator, considered omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, and on the other hand the spirit of the earth ...

Witnesses to the traditions of the Hopi Indian peoples of Arizona, the sculpted Katsinam (sing. Kachina) objects are expressed during traditional dances accompanying the annual festivals in favor of the rain. Traditional Kachina dolls are, for the Amerindian Pueblo group (Hopi, Zuni, Tewa Village, Acoma Pueblo and Laguna Pueblo), educational tools offered to children at the end of ritual celebrations. These statuettes, embodying a great diversity of spirits, represent the katchina dancers and the colors are associated with the cardinal points.
The patina is matte and velvety, minor abrasions, restoration on one foot.

African mask anthropozoomorphic, offering a powerful physiognomy. The mouth would evoke "the suction" of knowledge. The patina of use, oily, filmy, is imprinted with grainy areas. Cracks, slight chipping on one horn.
Established in central and southern Mali, in a savannah zone, the Bambara, "Bamana" or "unbelievers", belong to the large Mande group, with the Soninke and the Malinke. Groups of Bambara artisans nyamakala and blacksmiths named numu are in charge of carving ritual objects, endowed with the nyama. Six male associations, the Dyow, using Bambara masks, structure the Bambara community: young people first enter the circumcision society n'tomo, then comes that of the komo, the nama, the kono, the koré and finally the agrarian society Tyi Wara

Collection of Belgian African tribal art whose name will be communicated to the buyer.
Embodying a lineage founder, this sculpture is distinguished by its concave ogive face surmounted by a tubular protrusion. The piercing eyes are represented by cabochons pierced with a pupil. The surface is set with skilfully juxtaposed copper wires, all evoking for some the serpent naja. The elements of the posterior part symbolize a hairstyle. This sculpture is characteristic of the Mahongwe of the extreme northeast of Gabon, on the border with Congo. The baskets containing the relics of illustrious ancestors, generally surmounted by two reliquaries, were kept in temples in the village. One of them embodied the founder of the lineage, and the second his descendants. br>The worship of the ...

Wooden animal form, coated with a thick cracked crusty patina.br>
Carved for the most part on order placed by a family, the Dogon tribal statues can also be the object of worship on the part of the whole community when they commemorate, for example, the foundation of the village. These statues, sometimes embodying the nyama of the deceased, are placed on altars of ancestors and take part in various rituals, including those of the sowing and harvesting periods. However, their functions remain little known. Alongside Islam, Dogon religious rites are organized around four main cults: the Lébé, relating to fertility, under the spiritual authority of the Hogon, the Wagem, ancestor worship under the authority of the patriarch, the Binou invoking the spirit world and led by the priest ...

This African head singiti Hemba, which was carved by the bwana mutombo, presents the traditional criteria of Hemba statuary . A chiseled frieze emphasizing the face indicates a beard; the lavish hairstyle was further outlined by a tiara. Usually made of iroko, these objects were venerated by a particular clan and stored in burial rooms in the chief's house.
Grainy patina. Erosions and cracks.
Height on base: 35 cm.
The Hemba have long been subject to the neighboring Luba empire, which has had a certain influence on their culture, their religion and their art. Ancestor worship is central to Hemba society. Genealogy is indeed the guarantor of privileges and the distribution of land. All aspects of the community are imbued with the authority of the ancestors. Thus, ...

Sculpted subject frozen in a rare tilting movement protruding the buttocks, the head slightly oriented towards the side of the arm whose hand grasps the phallus. The body and face of the ancestor are incised with scarifications. The dry, furrowed surface is imprinted with various traces of libations. Deep erosions, cracks.
Sculpted for the most part on order placed by a family, the Dogon statues can also be the object of worship on the part of the whole community. However, their functions remain little known. Alongside Islam, Dogon religious rites are organized around four main cults: the Lébé, relating to fertility, under the spiritual authority of the Hogon, the Wagem, ancestor worship under the authority of the patriarch, the Binou invoking the spirit world and led by the priest ...

Work of great purity of lines, provided with a wide gaping jaw surmounted by two pointed ears. The simply pierced, split gaze contributes to the expressive force of the mask. Height on base: 47 cm.
Smooth and satiny nuanced brown patina.
It is through various secret societies that the Bambara initiates will acquire their knowledge, including that of Koré, targeting the elders and during which this mask intervenes. Kore society is divided into eight classes of initiates, the sixth of which is that of the hyenas, or surukuw.

Established in central and southern Mali, in a savannah zone, the Bambara, "Bamana" or "unbelievers", as the Muslims have named them, belong to the large Mande group, with the Soninke and the Malinke. The Bambara nyamakala artisan groups, more ...

The African mask called "racing", Gunye ge, actor of social order among the Dan, has large eye sockets and a red textile wolf. It is also embellished with a raffia beard.
Height on base: 39 cm.
Black brown lustrous patina. Slight crack on the outline.
The masks equipped with round orbits ( gunye ge), facilitating vision, are part of the set of northern Dan masks and are used for racing events during of the dry season. The zapkei ge, also equipped with circular orbits, are responsible for preventing fires by watching over domestic fires. For the Dan, or Yacouba, living in the west of the Ivory Coast and in Liberia, the “dü” force which would animate the world would manifest itself in the sculpted masks. It is in this way that she seeks to bring knowledge to man in order ...