Tribal Art

The African art in Ivory Coast.
This African tribal mask from the Bete/We ethnic group adopts a most fantastic appearance. Fangs highlight the contours of the face, white clay marks the bulbous eyelids.
Granular patina.
It is mainly in the west of the Ivory Coast that the Bété employ masks whose style has been influenced by the gla mask society of the Wobé and Guéré populations, group called Wé or "men who forgive easily", itself belonging to the cultural group Krou , these traditions having been transmitted and taught to them by the Nyabwa . Of warlike origin but also participating in the resolution of conflicts, this sacred mask is worn accompanied by amulets that protect its wearer from its power against witchcraft. It is in order to reinforce its ...

Very graphic mask, whose curved jaw would evoke the "sucking" of knowledge. The deep oiled patina is raised by geometrical patterns carefully incised on the surface. Erosions. Established in central and southern Mali, in a savannah area, the Bambara, "Bamana" or "unbelievers", as the Muslims have named them, belong to the large Mande group, along with the Soninke and Malinke. Mostly farmers, but also breeders, they make up the largest ethnic group in Mali. Groups of Bambara artisans nyamakala , more specifically the blacksmiths named numu , are in charge of sculpting ritual objects, endowed with nyama , occult energy. Using fire and magical objects, the role of healer and diviner is also attributed to them Six male associations, the Dyow , using Bambara masks, structure the Bambara ...

An oblong face, a graceful neck and arms, a narrow bust, legs sinking into a circular base, and a solemn attitude. This female figure with fine scarification marks also carries a talisman revealing the influence of Islam.
Beautiful brown abraded patina of use, cracks of desiccation.
The Senoufos, the name given to them by the French colonists, are mostly farmers who are scattered between Mali, the Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso. Councils of elders, led by an elected chief, administer Senufo villages. Governed by matrilineal traditions, they are composed of clusters of dwellings named katiolo. Each has its own Poro association that initiates young boys from the age of seven in a succession of three cycles lasting seven years . They gather in a sacred enclosure called ...

Mask represented topped with an amulet like those that women inserted in their hair. It was used with Zamble and Zaouli, but is no longer used today. ("Guro", ed. 5Continents, pl.13) Numerous erosions.
Among the Mande group in the south, in central Côte d'Ivoire, on the banks of the Bandama, the Gouro are organized into lineages, and are the western neighbors of the Baoulé who have borrowed several features of their African tribal art creations. Animists, they have used since the 1950s a family of masks associated with the Zaouli dance. Indeed like the African Goli masks of the Baule, the set of Guro masks, relating to the genies of nature, comes in two zoomorphic masks followed by a third anthropomorphic one, which is considered the wife of the zamblé mask, the Gu. Priest ...

An actor of the social order, the African Dan mask would, according to Eberhard Fisher, be of the female or male type. The almond-shaped face, with protruding, full lips, is pierced by large circular eyes. Abraded patina of use, erosions, grainy matte areas.
The masks equipped with round orbits ( named gunyeya or gunye ge), facilitating vision, are part of the mask set of the Northern Dan and are used for racing events in the dry season. As for the zapkei ge , equipped with a gaze highlighted with red textile pierced with circular orbits, they are responsible for preventing fires by watching over domestic fires. They are worn accessorized with caps, braids, textile cape and raffia, the most prestigious of them being the go ge , royal mask reserved for exceptional events. ...

Exceptional mask of character representing a monkey, and whose power is expressed through features and volumes skillfully rendered. Marks of use, velvety patina, small accidents and abrasions. Residues of red pigments.
Only two types of Hemba masks have been identified: that of an anthropomorphic type with regular features, whose pointed chin is reminiscent of statuary, and those depicting monkeys,the soko mutu , and whose functions remain little known, but which probably belonged, according to J.Kerchache, to the secret societies bugabo and bambudye . The smallest specimens ( about twenty centimeters) would have been carried in the hand during rites intended for the protection of the home and fertility. In addition to the janiform statuettes kabeja , the statues of male ...

This African statuette, Blolo bia, adopts certain canons of the Baule statues, including muscular legs with protruding calves and a frontal posture. Beautiful abraded polychrome patina. br> About sixty ethnic groups populate Côte d'Ivoire, including the Baule, in the center, Akans from Ghana, people of the savannah, practicing hunting and agriculture just like the Gouro from whom they borrowed ritual cults and sculpted masks. Two types of statues are produced by the Baoulé, Baulé, within the ritual framework: The Waka-Sona statues, "being of wood" in Baoulé, evoke an assié oussou, being of the earth. They are part of a type of statues intended to be used as a medium tool by the komien diviners, the latter being selected by the asye usu spirits in order to communicate revelations ...

This Bamoun rider controlling a prancing horse would represent King N'Doya in his victory over the Peuls in the 19th century. Dark brown leather dresses the shapes of the character and his frame, lighter leather covers the hooves. The king armed with a sword is dressed in a traditional costume, the Hausa having introduced clothing transformations among the Bamoun, he wears leather stirrups connected by a rigid wicker rod. The various decorative elements and materials used here form an exceptional work.
The Bamun live in a region full of wooded landforms as well as savannahs. This large territory called Grassland located in the southwest of Cameroon is also the seat of other nearby ethnic groups such as the Bamiléké and the Tikar. Bamoun art is illustrated by bas-relief ...

Ex. Belgian African Art Collection.
The nzo longo male circumcision ceremonies of the Zombo are accompanied by masked dances. These rituals take place around the retreat of the young, for several months, during which the necessities of social, village and religious life will be taught to them.
This mask topped by a rounded visor crest is divided into areas of contrasting colors. The nose, eye sockets and mouth are delicately carved. An abundant ornament of raffia accompanies the whole. Velvety pigmented patina. Height on base: 51 cm.

Neighbors of the Yaka , the Nkanu and the Kongo in the west of the former Zaire, on the border with Angola, the Zombo fear, like the Kongo clans, the god named Nzambi. Their diviners use fetishes comparable to those of the ...

An elaborate structure, based on textile-trimmed basketry, has a single circular tray framed by antennae for this northern Yaka mask. The Zombo also used similar masks sculpted by the Yaka. The visor here is broken. Insiders could wear these single-platform masks that appeared in pairs. Very beautiful locally abraded granular polychromy.
As initiation songs accompanied the appearance of the African Yaka mask, which incorporates the category of high-ranking masks thanks to its tiered headdress. Their design aroused the creativity of the sculptors whom the chefs rewarded for their talent. Hierarchical and authoritarian, composed of fearsome warriors, Yaka society was governed by lineage leaders with the right to life and death over their subjects. Hunting and the resulting prestige ...

Scaled down version for this African mask Makonde embodying an ancestral spirit. The ancestors would return masked to mark their satisfaction following initiation. A labret distorts the upper lip. The incised patterns refer to the traditional tattoos and scarifications of the Makonde.
Satin patina.
The Makonde of northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania wore mask-helmets called lipiko during initiation ceremonies for young men. The Makonde worship an ancestor , which explains the abundance of naturalistic female statuary. In addition to the facial masks worn during mapiko dances and ngoma ceremonies that instruct youth about the requirements of marriage and family life. the Makonde also produce body masks featuring the female bust. (Art and Life in Africa, C.D. Roy)

French African tribal art collection.
The African art of the Byeri cult is illustrated by various anthropomorphic sculptures acting as "guardians" and embodying the ancestor.
This rare object (reliquary guardian of atypical form?), is formed of a piriform body, with a hollowed center, surmounted by a figurative motif associated with the ancestors of the clan. Patina of use, greyish brown. Cracks. Among the Fang, the boxes containing the relics of illustrious ancestors were kept by the oldest man in the village, the "esa". Topped by a statue or a head that acted as a guardian of the "byeri" boxes, they were stored in a dark corner of the hut, supposed to divert evil influences to someone else. They were also used during the initiation ceremonies of young people linked to the ...

African Dogon art.
Male figure with columnar bust standing on bent legs. Short, small arms frame the face. Grainy matte surface, cracks.
The African tribal statues of the Dogon may also be the object of worship by the entire community when they commemorate, for example, the founding of the village. These statues, sometimes embodying the nyama of the deceased, are placed on ancestor altars and participate in various rituals including those of the seed and harvest periods. Their functions, however, remain little known. The figures with raised arms always symbolized a prayer to Amma for the granting of the rain that is essential to all life, and it could also be a gesture of contrition following the violation of a law that led to a drought. The southern part of the plateau ...

These primitive large hoe-shaped coins were used for offerings, wedding dowries, and of course for major festive and ceremonial occasions. The Angas tribes of the Jos Plateau in northern Nigeria offered such objects as dowries to the father of the bride-to-be. These coins also had a ceremonial function during the celebration of the union. Some people, however, attribute these specially shaped coins to the Afos, a neighboring tribe settled below the Jos plateau. The Afos speak a Benue-Congolese language: Eyoli. Two parts stand out, a narrow handle and the lower part of rectangular shape known as the shovel shape which is also found among the Mambilas.
The oxidation of the iron offers an inimitable patina.

Topped with a high flat crest, this African Dogon mask is one of the many stylistic variations of Dogon masks, icons of Dogon tribal art. Angular features, eyes hollowed out in a triangle, thin protruding lips, and a protrusion extending the nose, characterize this mask carved in a dense wood, with a grainy surface. Polychrome crusty patina with local flaking. The Dogon are a people renowned for their cosmogony, their esotericism, their myths and legends. Their population is estimated at about 300,000 souls living southwest of the Niger loop in the Mopti region of Mali (Bandiagara, Koro, Banka), near Douentza and part of northern Burkina (northwest of Ouahigouya). The villages are often perched on the top of scree on the side of hills, according to a unique architecture. The ...

Ex-collection African art from Belgium.
This is a reduction figure of the niombo, a sometimes giant funerary anthropomorphic "bundle" representing the deceased, buried at funerals during ancestor cults. The doll is made of a wickerwork frame dressed in textile. It was kept in the house of the chiefs. The Vili, the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembé, the Bwende, the Yombé and the Kôngo constituted the Kôngo group, led by the king ntotela. Their kingdom reached its peak in the 16th century with the ivory and copper trade and the slave trade. With the same beliefs and traditions, they produced a statuary with a codified gesture in relation to their vision of the world. The sculptures of the Bwendé were strongly inspired by those of the neighboring Beembe.

Tribes in the southeastern region of the DRC around Lake Tanganyika, such as the Tumbwe and the Tabwa, worshiped the mipasi ancestors through sculptures held by chiefs or witch doctors. A magical charge ( dawa )was inserted at the top of the statues' heads. Our female figure does indeed have a charge inserted at the top of the head. The diviners-healers ngango used this type of statuette-fetish to reveal witchcraft and protect against malevolent spirits.
Satin golden brown patina, cracks and abrasions.

Simple cultivators without centralized power, the Tabwa federated around tribal chiefs after coming under the influence of the Luba. It was mainly during this period that their artistic current was expressed mainly through statues but also masks. The ...

This African Bwa mask is topped with a plank and a male figure carved in round-bump. Decorative engravings adjoin with a hooked beak evoking the bird. According to Gabriel Massa and Chantal Dewé, the concentric circles symbolize the original sacred wells, the triangles the footprints of the antelopes, and the curved hooks the calao, an animal associated with divination. Dry and abraded matte patina.
The African art sculptures of the Bobo, Bwa, Kurumba and Mossi, living in Burkina Faso, frequently pick up and combine stylized elements borrowed from humans, animals or insects. It is the spirits of nature that are supposed to determine the well-being and prosperity of an individual, and adversity will be seen as the result of neglect of collective rites. It is therefore during ...

Ex-collection Belgian African art. Rare mask with a spherical face surrounded by a collar, decorated with striated flat areas of contrasting colors. The grooves of the face could reproduce the facial paintings accompanying the initiation ceremonies. According to Marc Léo Félix, this type of mask was used during the gatherings of the bambudye, a Luba fraternity associated with power. Grainy matte patina locally chipped.
The Luba (Baluba in Tchiluba) are a people of Central Africa. Their cradle is Katanga, more precisely the region of the Lubu River, thus the name (Baluba, which means "the Lubas"). They were born from a secession of the Songhoy ethnic group, under the leadership of Ilunga Kalala, who had the old king Kongolo, who has since been venerated in the form of a ...

Always represented sitting on a stool, this Bambara statue, with its piercing gaze, has a high "shell-shaped" chest. The hands placed in front form large flat areas, framing a narrow columnar bust. Beautiful golden brown patina alternating satin and velvety areas. Abrasions. Cracks and missing parts.
These female statues , or Bambara queens , Guandoudou , Gwandusu associated with fertility and fecundity, were surrounded by statues representing their servants, presenting offering cups or supporting their chest. The blacksmiths of the Dyo society, Djo or Do , used them every seven years during the fertility ritual. Infertile women then had to sacrifice a bird, wash the figures with a peanut soap, segue, then anoint them with shea oil. They also adorned them with necklaces to ...

Incarnating a spirit, this mossi mask has a summit ridge between two curved horns extended by a bird's beak. The geometric patterns on which it is decorated are enhanced by a polychrome patina, attenuated and chipped by time. The black patina was originally obtained from charcoal and gum pods. The holder of the mask and his family worshipped the object through offerings such as millet beer, while invoking its protection.
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 order to honor the ancestors. Their appearance is now common during entertainment shows. Upper Volta, ...