Tribal Art

This piece has an important decorative richness, it is attached to a prestigious funeral mask Inhuba.
There are many geometric patterns in low relief. The rear edge has a rope attached with the help of punctures that kept it in place despite its volume and weight.
The tapered eyes are characteristic of Kuba.

The Kuba are the most prolific group in Western Kasai. Kuba art developed mainly around the royal person. This prestigious culture, made famous not its masks, just like the big royal masks, these are very elaborate and serve as objects of power, and currency of exchange between groups. Similarly, there are no royal statuettes and its Kasaï" velvets are also magnificent ceremonial costumes. Kuba masks find their identity during rites of passage

The large African suku kakuungu masks are normally accompanied by a voluminous beard and headdress in raffia. This large face with deformed features terrorized the audience. With long dangling jowls, it is divided into two contrasting tones that reinforce the indigo of the eyelids. The raffia adornment forms a shaggy hair on the face, which also has a proportionately reduced chin. Interesting patina matte abrased. Break on the upper edge, desication cracks.

The Suku and Yaka ethnic groups recognize common origins and have the same social structure as well as similar cultural practices. They can only be differentiated by their stylistic variations. The mukanda is the name given to all the rites around the initiation ceremony of young puberty, dedicating the end of childhood ...

Sophisticated ornamentation for this rare Mask of The Kasai Pende linked to the ceremonies of the mukanda. Tapestry nails form linear patterns, while metal plates adorn certain areas. Grainy brown patina. Height on a base: 59 cm .
The seed live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the have settled on the banks of the Kasai river downstream of Tshikapa. The influences of the neighbouring ethnic groups, Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salempasu, were imprinted on their large tribal art sculpture. Within this diversity the masks Mbuya, realistic, produced every ten years, have a festive function, and embody different characters, including the chef, the soothsayer and his wife, the prostitute, the possessed, etc. The masks of initiation and those of power, the minganji, represent the ...

Wearing wicker balls and extended with a raffia braid, this African mask is linked to the ceremonies and initiation rites of the warrior society. He also appeared at funerals in connection with the deceased's previous initiations, and in many cases for a fee. The power of some masks was also so feared that their name alone caused women and children to flee. These masks are distinguished by their bulbous forehead, wide nose and mouth revealing cut teeth. This ferocious-looking model stands out for the size of the protruding forehead and tubular ears. Posterior crack of the headdress. Referenced under the number 743 in the collection of the former owner.
Shunting and farming, warrior people, the Salampasu form a tribe of the Lulua group and are settled between the Democratic Republic ...

The first African arts in the people of lightning.
This funeral mask, devoid of the decoration of pearls frequently adorning the Masks of the Kuba, forms one of the regional types of masks bwoom, or bongo, embodying a pygmy, and also a spirit originally living in their territory. This mask is characterized by a bulbous forehead, protruding, angular cheekbones, and an important nose growing above hollowed-out quadrangular nostrils and a flat mouth. A raised rib bypasses the base of the hem. Under the oiled black patina a light wood surfaces. Desication abrasions and cracks.
The Kuba kingdom was founded in the 16th century by the Bushoong which are still ruled by a king today. More than twenty types of tribal masks are used in the Kuba or people of lightning, with meanings and ...

The copper mask ngongo munene, which could not be seen by women and children, participates in ancestor cults, rites of passage, and major funeral ceremonies. Originally tukongo rosette motifs, depicting the scarifications found on the lwalwa masks also used by the group, adorn this mask embodying the leader. The mask is then protected in a carpet and kept by dignitaries in a particular hut.
High on a base: 50 cm.
primitively on the east bank of the Lulua River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they were driven out by the Lulua expansion to Kasai, around Tsishenge, among the Tschokwe. These descendants of the Tukongo are also very close to the Lwalwa with whom they would have common ancestors. Mainly farmers, they grow cassava, peas, maize and yam. They also live from ...

This rare Jonga mask, whose volume gradually tightens, has protruding eyebrow arches, in the heart, under which small orifices appear the pupils. It has a rectangular mouth incised with teeth, giving it a ferocious appearance. A bichrome that is also observed on the statuary of the ethnic group animates the whole.
as grainy matte-use aerospace. Slight desication crack. Erosions at the top.
The Mbole forment one of the many clans belonging to the Mongo Ethnic Group including the Bolia, Bokote, Bongandu, Ekonda, Mbole, Dengese, Nkutu, Ntomba, Kole, Sengele, Songomeno, Iyasa, Bakutu, Bakusu, Iyadjima (Iyaelima), Boyela and the Batetela. The latter are divided between the southern province of Ecuador (province) and the northern province of Bandundu in the Democratic Republic of ...

The African art Punu and its African masks of ancestors.
This African mask for ikwara was used, according to Alisa LaGamma, during difficult palavers. A vigilante mask dancing on small stilts, he is wearing a toque with short side duvets. Scarifications are written diagonally on the face covered with a locally abraded black patina. Abrasions. Black patina. Discreet red pigment highlights.
The white masks of Gabon, itengi, (pl. bitengi) were associated with the various secret societies of Gabon, including the Bwiti, Bwete , and the Mwiri , the latter spanning several levels of initiation, to which all Punu men belonged, and whose emblem was the caiman. The Punu did not involve any masks in the rituals of the Bwiti, unlike Tsogo . These powerful secret societies, which also had ...

A ferocious expression for this red patina mask. Quadrangular gapes for the eyes and mouth still lined with scattered animal teeth, bulging shapes for the forehead and nose, form a striking effect. A soft, grainy agglomerates, highlighting the openings. Beautiful abraded patina.
Among the first art masks, this African mask named Nsembu performed in male-female pairs, and was used by the soothsayer society Nkunda within the clans living in the northern region of Uituri.
The Kumu, Bakumu, Komo, live mainly in the North-East and Central Democratic Republic of Congo. Their Bantu language is komo or kikomo. Several ethnic groups are closely intertwined, with similar associations: the Mbole, the Yela, the Lengola, and the Metoko. Their artistic production also has great ...

This shoulder mask, from the Baga du Nord also used in the Nalu, features a voluminous head with a buzzed nose evoking a bird's beak over a tubeular, reduced mouth, a summit ridge, and prominent horseshoe ears. A metal nailing highlights the features. This large mask, of exceptional size, would embody an idealized baga woman, and principles of fertility and abundance of harvests. They occur during harvests, marriages or deaths. The raffia adornment, painstakingly attached to a textile ribbon nailed to the contours, completely conceals four high legs. Oiled dark patina, abrasions and desication cracks.
Mêlés in Nalu and Landuman, the Baga live along the coasts of Guinea-Bissau in areas of swamps flooded six months a year. They believe in a creative god called Nagu , Naku , which they ...

An expression of the link between the living and the dead, this exceptional Fang mask, popular with collectors, is distinguished by a short nose with a rounded tip, like the reliquary statues of the Byeri. The headdress is divided into three tubular shells, two of which are facing outwards. This type of hairstyle has been attributed to the Tsogho/Fang by Peter Stephan The icons of the Bwiti B. Goy). The volumes are highlighted with blackened grooves evoking tribal tattoos. Honey-coloured wood encrusted locally with a thick residual layer of kaolin. Scattered erosions.
The appearance of these masks, usually coated with kaolin (the white color evokes the power of ancestors), in the middle of the night, could cause dread. This type of mask was used by the male society ngil which no ...

This African mask featuring a female ancestor, Pwevo, features raised ribs associated with traditional ethnic scarifications. These details differentiate it from Tschokwe productions despite the relative similarity of their masks. Mask of a beautiful symmetry. Abraded matte brown patina.
Hightop on a base: 41 cm. Originally from Lunda, the Lwena emigrated from Angola to Zaire in the 19th century, repelled by the Chokwe. Some became slave traders, and others, the Lovale, found refuge in Zambia and near the Zambezi in Angola. Their society is matrilineal, exogamous and polygamous. The Lwena became known for their often honey-coloured sculptures, embodying figures of deceased ancestors and chiefs, and their masks related to the initiation rites of the mukanda .

Ex-collection French African tribal art.
See northern centre of the country Mossi, convex African masks, with a prominent central ridge, are common. This top face mask is part of a set of three male, female and child, which their behavior distinguishes. It is young initiates, elected by the elders, who will wear the masks. The dancer wearing the male mask expresses himself with an aggressive pantomime and wields a long whip. A thick, plant-fibre adornment, absent from this copy, usually conceals the tubular growth of the top. Grainy matte patina, very locally flaked. Mossi masks, personal or lineage, are an embodiment of guardian spirits offering their support. They perform at funerals, at the funerals of clan leaders, protect crops. True altars without their costume, they can ...

A slightly asymmetrical flat mask with hollowed-out orbits, topped with horns, this traditional Kayamba lega mask (also known as wiyinda) indicated the stage that its holder had reached within the Bwami, a learning society composed of different ranks, and which was joined by wives whose spouses had reached the third level, that of the ngandu. Kayamba was owned by an accomplished insider. Surface encrusted with kaolin residue. Slight crack. Height on a base: 54 cm.
Belle clear patina, residual kaolin inlays with mica particles.

At the Lea, the Bwami society open to men and women, organized social and political life. There were up to seven levels of initiation, each associated with emblems. Following their exodus from Uganda in the 17th century, the Lega settled on the ...

Ex private English collection of African art.

This type of mask called ogbodo enyi which means spirit of the elephant", refers to the strength and endurance of the majestic pachyderm. Due to its exceptional characteristics, the elephant is associated with a symbolic of political and spiritual power. These masks are recognizable by their atypical forms in projection. The top of the mask has an anthropomorphic head looking up. The piece has retained a beautiful polychrome. These masks were worn only by men during annual festivities where they wore them on the head and waved them on fast dances.

Circular, convex mask, whose surface is hollowed out with large grooves coated with burgundy and black pigments. These large bands could correspond to the ritual paintings of the group. The discreet figuration, thanks to nicks, nose and mouth remains unusual. Grainy matte patina. Height on a base: 38 cm.
The Tetela and Yela groups are of Mongo origin and are neighbours. The sculpture of the Tetela takes various forms, borrowed from the clans they rub shoulders with, among which inspirations are reflected with polychrome works. Several ethnic groups divided into lineages live closely intertwined in central Zaire: the Mbole, Yela, Lengola, and Metoko, and have similar associations. This proximity has generated some stylistic borrowings. Their artistic production has great analogies ...

With a flat skull, the large face is made up of features highlighted by metallic inlays. The circular ears form cups with a perforation in the centre, while the broad mouth appears to articulate. Smooth, matte surface coated with kaolin.
The Kumu, Bakumu and Komo, live mainly in the North-East and central Areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their Bantu language is komo or kikomo. Several ethnic groups are closely intertwined, with similar associations: the Mbole, the Yela, the Lengola, and the Metoko. Their artistic production also has great similarities with that of the Metoko and Lengola. Their divination masks were displayed during the closing ceremonies of the initiation and circumcision of the young people of the society nkunda . It was in the Maniema region around the ...

In the northern centre of the Mossi country, convex African masks, with a prominent central ridge, are common. This top face mask is part of a set of three male, female and child, which their behavior distinguishes. It is young initiates, elected by the elders, who will wear the masks. The dancer wearing the male mask expresses himself with an aggressive pantomime and wields a long whip. The mask is topped with a tubular growth hidden under a vegetable fiber hairstyle. The eyes are surrounded by dumb seeds. Very good condition.
The Mossi masks, personal or lineage, are an incarnation of guardian spirits offering their support. They perform at funerals, at the funerals of clan leaders, protect crops. True altars without their costume, they can receive libations such as millet beer in ...

African art from South West Cameroon.
Products by the secret societies of the Bafo in southwestern Cameroon, this type of African mask evoking the raw art is adorned with a wide mouth revealing rows of sharp teeth. The concave forehead is home to exorbitant eyes, indicated by cabochons set with metal pupils. The nose takes the form of surprising tubular ears gushing from the center. Two-tone matte patina, locally flaked. Crack.Use unknown.

Mossi masks, personal or lineage, are an embodiment of guardian spirits offering their support. They perform at funerals, at the funerals of clan leaders, protect crops. True altars without their costume, they can receive libations such as millet beer in order to honor the ancestors. Their appearance is now common during entertainment shows.
The Upper Volta, Burkina Faso since independence, is composed of descendants of the Nakomse invaders, horsemen from Ghana, and the Tengabibisi, descendants of the natives. Among them, farmers and blacksmiths, saaba , used masks, wando, receptacles of the guardian spirits, which often represented the totem animals of the clan.
Traditionally worn by young initiates, this mask evokes the freshness of youth. Subjects of offerings in order ...

Great finesse of execution for this mask of the animist society Poro des Senufo, which is undoubtedly the work of a lorhon founder from the class of craftsmen from the Lobi region. These blacksmiths-sculptors worked for different clans, including the Senoufo and Diula.
drish-green-of-grey inlays.
Hightop on a base: 39 cm.
The Poro Society is an institution that controls political and economic life. His masks honor the elders or appear at funerals. Anthropomorphic masks would mainly drive the spirit of the deceased from his place of residence. The Pélié mask means 'mask that jumps' and combines side fins. The Senoufo are mostly made up of farmers, occasionally hunting. Living in villages run by a chief and a council of elders, they are established between Côte d'Ivoire, ...