Tribal Art

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 ...

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 ...

Carved maternity embodying a thil, named thilbou khè bambi , supposed to protect mother and child.

Glossy brown-black patina.
The populations of the same cultural region, grouped under the name "lobi", form one fifth of the inhabitants of Burkina Faso. Although they are not very numerous in Ghana, they have also settled in the north of the Ivory Coast. In the late 18th century, the Lobi came from northern Ghana and settled among the indigenous Thuna and Puguli, the Dagara, Dian, Gan and Birifor. The Lobi believe in a creator God named Thangba Thu, to whom they turn through the worship of numerous intermediate spirits, the Thil, who are supposed to protect them, with the help of the diviner, against a host of plagues. The geniuses of the bush, red-haired beings ...

This Lobi statuette "Bateba" was placed on the altar after a ritual to become the receptacle of a bush spirit, the Thil, and thus become an active being, an intermediary who fights against sorcerers and all other evil forces. The small spherical head, slightly tilted to the side, surmounts a narrow bust with drooping shoulders and arms that are placed alongside the body. The figure stands upright on wide feet. Golden brown glossy surface showing the wood grain.
When honored, these spirits manifest their benevolence in the form of abundant rains, good health, numerous births; Ignored, they withdraw it and bring devastating epidemics, drought and suffering.
These spirits transmit to the diviners the laws that the followers must follow to receive their protection.
They ...

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 ...