Tribal Art

Architectural decoration in African art associated with Yoruba culture.
Among the Yoruba, public temples, altars or chiefs' huts are blessed with lintels, doors and carved pillars, decorative sculptures dedicated to the mythical gods "orisa" and supposed to attract their blessings. This post is carved with a female motif and a character who appears to be playing the flute. A polychrome mat coating highlights the different elements of the sculpture. Erosions.
Centered on the veneration of its gods, or orisà , the Yoruba religion is indeed based on artistic sculptures endowed with coded messages ( aroko ). They are designed by sculptors at the request of followers, diviners and their clients. These spirits are believed to intercede with the supreme god ...

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 ...

Exceptional dimensions, 2.70 meters high, for this Baga statue: embodying a protective entity to which sacrifices were periodically dedicated, this maternity figure collected in Guinea-Bissau embodies the concept of Baga beauty, sculpted with numerous details such as sophisticated hairstyles, necklaces and bracelets, and generous breasts. This type of female figure was generally linked to women's associations that only included women who had had at least one child, which is no longer the case today.
Vivid polychrome patina. Abrasions, excellent condition except for erosions in the center of the base and at the top of the head. Mixed with the Nalu and Landuman, the Baga live along the coast of Guinea-Bissau in swampy regions that are flooded six months a year. These Baga groups, ...

Baga religious practices and African art.
This shoulder mask, pierced with holes under the breasts to allow the wearer's vision, features an elaborate decoration consisting of rafters and incisions highlighted by inlays of tapestry nails.
Belle patina of use.
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 do not represent, and which is accompanied by a male spirit whose name is Somtup . Apart from the famous Nimba mask, they have created a powerful mask, hybrid snake, gazelle, chameleon and crocodile, with the aim of communicating with the spirits of the forest. The face of the Baga Nimba mask is characterized by a buzzed nose evoking ...

An idea of receiving the mystical charge called "Bonga", this angular statue of his ancestor Téke was wrapped in a textile that was to hold the load in its receptacle.
Patine smooth shiny, mattified areas.
Andeblis between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon, the Teké were organized into chiefdoms whose leader was often chosen from among the blacksmiths. The head of the family, mfumu , had the right to life or death over his family whose importance determined his prestige. The leader of the clan, ngantsié , kept the great protective fetish tar mantsié who oversaw all the ceremonies. It is the powerful sorcerer healer and soothsayer who was unloaded" of magical elements, for retribution, individual statuettes or nkumi . According to the Teke, wisdom was absorbed and ...

Among the feasts of dignitaries, this stool with a cephalomorphic motif illustrates the importance given to the prestige of its owner. The protection of ancestors is invoked thanks to the sculpted effigy of Chibinda Ilunga, hunter and mythical hero, founder of the Chokwé ethnic group. The chiefs had a major function in the rites of propitiation intended for the hunting and fertility of women, the objects being decorated with this figure therefore presumably having a protective function. The flared seat rests on a circular base, and the walls are engraved with geometric patterns while a handle is fitted at the back.
Grey black, semi-mate. Cracks.
Paisiblely settled in eastern Angola until the 16th century, the Chokwé were then subjected to the Lunda empire from which they ...