Tribal Art

A combination of sharp contrasting geometric patterns appears under the ritual coating of this African Janiform mask. A crest headdress unites the two faces. The painted motifs symbolize the magical amulets of the Bobo. The masks are repainted with each new season of dance. Some common characteristics are to be noted with some of the helm masks of the Markha, another Mandingo ethnic group.

These heavy masks, usually designed around a hemispherical helmet with a crest or horned growths, were used in agricultural rituals to restore the balance of the earth. Their significance was revealed during the initiation of young boys. The Bobo Fing are a Mandingo people, most of whom live in the east of Burkina Faso, but also in the south of Mali. Their culture is similar to that ...

Divided into large contrasting stripes, this songye mask has an imposing sagittal crest. The eyelids stretch towards the temples. Like a beak, the parallelepiped mouth is projected. Patina matte abrased. Desication crack. Height on a base: 110 cm.
This types of African Kifwebe masks are listed: the masculine (kilume) usually with a high crest, the feminine (kikashi) would present a more modest or absent crest, and finally the greater embodying power (kia ndoshi). In the 16th century, the Songyes migrated from the Shaba region to settle on the left bank of the Lualaba. Their society is organized in a patriarchal way. Their history is inseparable from that of the Luba to whom they are related through common ancestors. The Songyes have created impressive statues with powerful features ...

Mixed by marriage to the Lega, Ngengele and Zimba, the Songola or Babili, or Goa, are ruled by the elders of the lineages. They borrowed from the Luba and Songye the Luhuna institution composed of dignitaries and that of Bwami by their Lega wives. The Songolas live on hunting and fishing, they are involved in sculpture, although the objects associated with the cult of Bwami come from the Lega. Among their reduced statuary, the figures of ancestors of the Nsubi society evoke those of the Mbole, other sculptures were kept in baskets as in the Lega. The masks such as our copy were used during the initiation rites Nsindi.Sculpted in dense wood, its anthropomorphic features combine with the detail of small feline ears appearing in relief above the orbits. Uneven, partially glossy surface, ...

Of Lunda origin, the Lwena emigrated from Angola to Zaire in the 19th century, repelled by the Chokwe. When some became slave traders, other groups found refuge in Zambia, forming the Luvale , Lovale . Their society is matrilineal, exogamous and polygamous. The Lwena and Luvale have become known for their sculptures depicting figures of deceased ancestors and chiefs, and their masks related to the initiation rites of the mukanda, a secret male association shared by all these groups on the same territory, with some variants however. Their sculpture was largely influenced by that of the Chokwe.The masks of the Chokwe, Luda, Luvale/Lwena, Luchazi and Mbunda clans are named in Zambia by the "makishi" (sing. likishi). This name comes from "kishi", a Bantou concept that evokes the manifestation ...

This African mask was used by the nganga, soothsayer priest. A mediator mask, also present in the initiation processes, it was also used by the fetishist during healing rituals. At the same time, it could be used to identify individuals who, through their actions, could disturb the harmony of the community. Light wood with a patina of kaolin of which there are still some film residues.
In the 13th century, the Kongo people, led by their king Ne Kongo, settled in a region at the crossroads of the borders between present-day DRC, Angola and Gabon. Two centuries later, the Portuguese came into contact with the Kongo and converted their king to Christianity. Although monarchical, the Kongo political system had a democratic aspect because the king was actually placed at the head of the ...

Ex-collection Belgian African art. br>This circular African mask, says junior, has protruding eyes and offers a rectangular mouth in which a dentition is chiseled, in reference to the traditional image of teeth in young people. The female kplekple mask, according to some authors (African Barbier-Mueller Masks, p.116) is said to be red. Vogel (Baule) indicates, however, that in the Baoulé version of the Goli the male mask is painted red, and the feminine in black. It is likely that this allocation varies from village to village. Grainy matte patina. Abrasions and restoration of horns. Height on suitable base: 108 cm.
Dedicating the manifestation of a series of family masks Goli, this circular mask with rounded horns evoking the antelope, is considered in some cases as a male mask, ...

Among the first art masks, this mask named Nsembu occurred in male-female pairs, and was used by the society of soothsayers Nkunda at the clans living in the north of the Uituri region. The surface is coated with a polychrome dotillage, an allusion to the animal world, and the color pigments that adorn the bodies during the initiation rites. Patine mate. Height on suitable base: 44 cm.

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 similarities with that of the Metoko and Lengola. Their divination masks were displayed during ...

Among the Gurunsi, the Lela, Winiama, Nuna and Nunuma are the main mask sculptors. They influenced the style and meaning of the masks of their neighbors Mossi and Bwa. Several animals can be represented: buffalo, antelope, warthog, hyena, calao, snake and crocodile and their combined attributes. The board extends from a stylized bird mask with a rectangular bifide beak. The ornamentation is carefully engraved on each side of the mask: the black triangles allude to the footprints of the hooves of the antelopes and the growths symbolize the beaks of the calao, associated with divination and magic. Mate patina, locally flaky, erosions at the top.
These masks were worn by the members of the village, completely hidden under clothing made of vegetable fibres, during the ritual dances. The ...

The Ti-wara, Ci wara, in African art.
This would be an animal - genius called Ciwara who would have taught the Bambara to cultivate the land. The latter recall the myth through the stylized representation of a hipporague antelope, whose name ci wara signifies of the earth. In addition to a decoration engraved with fine geometric patterns, the end of the horns is wrapped in leather and hair. Successive arches feature the wide neckline with a mane. The characteristics allow it to be attributed to the stylistic canons of the Ségou region. Light brown patina.
Ported to the top of the skull and held in place by a sort of small basket, these cimiers accompanied the dancers during the rituals of the tion , an association dedicated to agricultural work. The masks bound the field as ...

This African Dan mask is a variation of the Deangle. The look here is enhanced by a strip of textile strapped with metal, like the hemmed eyes. The ajar lips that reveal teeth form a protruding diamond. Very fine raffia braids form a hairstyle plated at the top of the forehead, from which protrude laterally two short mats. The patina is shiny, glossy. Splends on the upper outline.
Dan masks, of varied design, usually occur during highly theatrical entertainment parties where women play a leading role. The so-called Mask, called Deanglé, defines an ideal of beauty and benevolence because it is carved in honour of the village's young girls or renowned men. Also used during circumcision rites, they appear in the company of the gle s and the large go ge masks relating to the go ...

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 ...

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 .