Tribal Art

Ex-French African artcollection.
Within the wide diversity of nkisi sculptures to which multiple virtues were attributed, this African maternity in figurative style, image of the protective ancestor of the clan, offers an abundance of very finely chiseled details. This type of female statue was accompanied by its male counterpart named Mabyaala.
Burgundy brown satin patina. Minor erosions and desiccation cracks.
The Vili, the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembé, the Bwende, the Yombé and the Kôngo formed the Kôngo group, led by king ntotela . With the same beliefs and traditions, they produced statuary with codified gestures in relation to their vision of the world.
Ref. : "Africa, the art of a continent" ed. Prestel (p.247)

Ex private French collection of African art. Typical representation of a maternity according to the canons of art Tikar. Sitting on a royal stool, she holds two children on her lap. High-lined, she is richly adorned with jewels, necklace and bracelets around her neck and wrists. The headdress is very elaborate and many ritual scarifications cover her belly. The seat of the stool is highly worked and based on a five-person caryatid base. The tribes that live in the Grasslands, in northwestern Cameroon, are part of the Tikar peoples, divided into several independent kingdoms in the Bafut kingdom. The structure of the kingdom consists of a large chiefdom subdivided into quarters: residences of queens, children and notables. The notables constitute the hierarchy of the chieftaincy.

African statue altar part of a cult supposed to promote fertility and protect descendants, very widespread not only among the animist Idoma, but also among the Igala and the Yoruba of the South. These statues which benefited from offerings were kept in sanctuaries. Matte crusty patina. Erosions.
The Idoma live at the confluence of the Benué and the Niger. Numbering 500,000, they are farmers and traders. There are Igbo, Cross River and Igala influences in their art and customs and it is often difficult to distinguish them from their neighbors. Royal lineage members of their oglinye society, glorifying courage, use masks and crests during funerals and festivities. They also produced fertility statues with whitened faces displaying incised teeth. Janiform crests generally appear at ...

Ex-French Le Bret African artcollection.
Remarkable for its quality of execution, this African sculpture named Phemba or Pfemba, embodies the female mediator figure, ancestor of the clan. It presents a child personifying the matrilineal transmission of power. The scarifications in relief dot the bust of the subject. The Yombe indeed decorated their textiles, mats and loincloths, with motifs related to proverbs glorifying work and social unity. The glazed gaze symbolizes clairvoyance. Refined figurative details, artfully hemmed lines from an artist whose anonymity we can deplore, form the specificity of this work. Smooth orange-brown patina. Desiccation cracks.

Clan of the Kongo group, the Yombe are established on the west African coast, in the southwest of the Republic ...

Established in a posture highlighting the twins perched on each of her knees, this altar figure is wearing braids and a top bun. Its lower limbs seem to merge with the feet of the circular seat. Dense crusty patina. Desication cracks.
Carved for the most part on order placed by a family, the Dogon statues can also be the object of worship on the part of the whole community. However, their functions remain little known. Alongside Islam, Dogon religious rites are organized around four main cults: the Lébé, relating to fertility, under the spiritual authority of the Hogon, the Wagem, ancestor worship under the authority of the patriarch, the Binou invoking the spirit world and led by the priest of the Binou, and the society of masks concerning the funeral.

Ex-collection of Belgian African tribal art.

The theme of the woman breastfeeding her child forms a frequent subject in the statuary urohobo, idoma, afo and igbo. The sculpture would embody an edjo. It stands out from the igbo sculpture thanks to the deep vertical facial scarifications. Yellow ochre crusty patina, locally flaked. Damaged base, erosion and desication cracks.
Urhobos, living near the northwest of the Niger Delta River, are the main ethnic group in The Delta State among the 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They speak Urhobo, a language of the Niger-Congo group. Together with the Isoko, whose art is close, they are collectively known as Sobo. Their large sculptures depicting the spirits of nature, edjo, or the founding ancestors of the clan, to whom ...

An altar figure named anjenu, this maternity sculpture is enhanced with a patina alternating yellow ochre, kaolin, and a matte black. The bleached face is reminiscent of igbo/idoma masks whose mouth reveals cut teeth. These statues are frequently placed near the body of the deceased during mourning ceremonies. They are associated with a cult, widespread among animist Idoma as well as the Igala and Yoruba of the South, which is supposed to promote women's fertility and protect their offspring. These statues, which benefited from offerings, were kept in shrines.
The Idoma live at the confluence of Bené and Niger. There are 500,000 farmers and traders. Their art and customs have influences from Igbo, the Cross River and Igala, and it is often difficult to distinguish them from their ...

Maternities in the Traditional African Art of Nigeria. Refined sculpture featuring a cup carrier. The mother, or priestess, her face streaked with scarifications, is kneeling and has a zoomorphic cup with a lid, which is intended for offerings or divination. Offering cups, some of which were used to store kola nuts or other gifts for visitors, were once placed in royal palaces in the Ekiti and Igbomina regions of Yoruba country. The Yoruba religion is based on artistic sculptures with coded messages (aroko). These spirits are believed to intercede with the supreme god Olodumare.
Grainy polychrome patina. Deep desication cracks.
(source: "Yoruba", B.Lawal, ed. 5 Continents)

This sculpture of African tribal art was destined to be enthroned on an altar. Facilitating communication with the sacred, it reminds the deity of his duties to men. Wearing a high crest, she sports the keloids of the Yoruba nobles. The bulging eyes, fleshy lips, are also distinctive markers of Yoruba tribal statuary. The paint on these statues was frequently renewed before the rites. Crusty patina, locally flaking. Desiccation cracks and heavy abrasions. The Yoruba practiced the slave trade with the Europeans and in particular the Portuguese before being completely subjugated to the English following a long period of infighting between the different kings or obas in place. The main Yoruba cults are the Gélédé , Epa , Ogboni , and the Esu cult. Centered on the veneration of ...

Sculpture depicting a woman on whose back is clinging a child. The woman carries an offering cup. The piercing, deep gaze and strong nose characterize the physiognomy. The dense, oily patina, ocher brown in color, has grainy areas. Minor cracks and abrasions.
The Bambara of central and southern Mali belong to the large Mande group, like the Soninke and the Malinke. Large masked parties close the initiation rites of the dyo association and the gwan ritual of the Bambara in the south of the Bambara country. Spread over a period of seven years for men, they are less demanding for women. The new initiates then celebrate, in groups, from village to village, their symbolic rebirth. It is the sons of the blacksmiths who dance around these statues that were placed outside the ...

This African sculpture naturalistic, allowing according to the Yoruba communication with the afterlife, features as a maternal figure one of the many female goddesses, the earth goddess Onilé ("owner of the House"), guarantor of longevity, peace, and resources, and linked to the powerful Ogboni society among the Yoruba Egba and Ijebu. It could also symbolize Orunmila , goddess of divination.
Intended to be enthroned on an altar, she was worshipped by members of the powerful Ogboni, or Osugbo, society in charge of justice.
Satin polychrome patina, abrasions.
Centered on the veneration of its gods, or orisà, the Yoruba religion relies on artistic sculptures with coded messages (aroko). The kingdoms of Oyo and Ijebu arose following the demise of the Ife ...

The Igbo people in southeastern Nigeria worship a considerable number of deities known as alusi, or agbara, considered to be the descendants of Chuku, or Chukwu , and as such constitute intermediaries to whom sacrifices such as kola nuts, silver, kaolin, are granted in order to enjoy their favors.
These Nigerian sculptures produced in several regions range from about forty centimeters up to human height, and are adorned with more or less elaborate aristocratic attributes.
This sculpture, abundant in detail, features figures with slender morphologies. The children carried by the mother sitting on her stool with three anthropomorphic legs are connected by unidentified elements. The growths of the hairstyle also offer characters evoking fertility. The face here takes on ...

French African art collection.
African statuette of an altar belonging to a widespread cult among the animist Idoma as well as among the Igala and the Yoruba of the South. This traditional sculpture is supposed to promote fertility and protect offspring. These statues which benefited from offerings were preserved in sanctuaries. Chipped reddish-brown patina, kaolin residue around the eyes. Losses (feet), desication cracks.
The Idoma live at the confluence of the Bénué and the Niger. Numbering 500,000, they are farmers and traders. There are Igbo, Cross River and Igala influences in their art and customs and it is often difficult to distinguish them from their neighbours. Royal lineage members of their oglinye society, glorifying courage, wear masks and crests during ...

This naturalistic altar sculpture, allowing communication with the afterlife, features as a maternal figure one of the many female goddesses, the earth goddess Onilé ("owner of the House"), guarantor of longevity, peace, and resources, and linked to the powerful Ogboni society among the Yoruba Egba and Ijebu. It could also symbolize Orunmila , goddess of divination.
Intended to be enthroned on an altar, it was venerated by members of the powerful Ogboni, or Osugbo, society in charge of justice.
Matt crusty patina, very light pink ochre highlights. Missing.
Centered on the veneration of its gods, or orisà, the Yoruba religion relies on artistic sculptures with coded messages (aroko). The kingdoms of Oyo and Ijebu arose following the demise of the Ife ...

Rare Luba statue of imposing size, standing on spread, semi-flexed legs. So-called "ear-shaped" scarifications, "tactile mnemonic code", cover the bust, enhancing the curves. This type of figure was also used in the context of fertility rituals: young women lacking breast milk came to touch the chest of the statue in the hope of breastfeeding more abundantly. These mothers then spoke audibly to the ancestor indicating that their grandchildren lacked milk. Dark satin patina.
The Luba (Baluba in Chiluba) 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”). The chiefdoms cover a small territory without any real border which includes at most three villages. The Luba of Kasai were subjected to ...

Multiple symbolic scarifications are inscribed on the body of the sculpted effigy with a protective vocation. This highly detailed statue, carrying two children, features a locally blackened orange patina. A summit excrescence depicting high braids rises from the headdress. Beautiful work featuring a balanced alternation of protruding reliefs.
The different types of Luluwa, Lulua, or even Béna Lulua statues, with multiple scarifications, glorify local chiefs, motherhood, fertility and the female figure. This sculptural art was subject to the influences of neighboring ethnic groups (Chokwe, Luba, Kuba, ...)
It is in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo that the Lulua, or Béna Lulua, settled from West Africa. Their social structure, based on caste, is similar to that ...

The face is imbued with solemnity for this female figure with a neck and tubular limbs, as if frozen in a seated posture, supporting with her clasped hands the child clinging to her back. This piece was probably dedicated to a family liturgical practice, in relation to fertility. Thick blackish patina, residual crusty deposits. One foot is missing. The Senoufo, the name given to them by the French colonists, are mainly composed of farmers who are scattered between Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso. Councils of elders, led by an elected chief, administer Senoufo 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 ...

This sculpture of African tribal art, supposed to facilitate communication with the sacred, reminds the deity of his duties towards men. It features the keloid marks of Yoruba nobles. Protruding eyes, plump lips, are also distinctive markers of Yoruba tribal statuary. The head of the child has been replaced by a metal element.
The painting of these statues was frequently renewed before the rites.
Locally chipped crusty patina.

Desication cracks, erosions and loss.

The main Yoruba cults are the Gélédé, Epa, Ogboni cults, and the Esu cult. Centered on the veneration of its gods, or orisà , the Yoruba religion is based on artistic sculptures endowed with coded messages ( aroko ). They are designed by the sculptors at the request of the ...

Surmounted by a hemispherical pot with a lid sculpted with an animal motif, this Senufo maternity, represented seated, nursing an infant, is made of monoxyl wood. A gentle benevolence, remarkably rendered, permeates her face. This character would embody the "Old Mother" feeding the Poro initiates. Brown glazed surface, golden reflections. Abrasions, micro cracks. The Senoufos, the name given to them by the French colonists, are mainly composed of farmers who are scattered between Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, 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 called katiolo . Each has its own Poro association that initiates young boys from the age of seven in a succession ...

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 ...

Sitting on a narrow stool, legs parallel, an infant figure carved in bas-relief on the abdomen, this representation of woman to child has a concave head on which are drawn wide eyes below features indicating the hairstyle. This wooden sculpture, the Bateba, was placed on the altar after a ritual to become the receptacle of a spirit of the bush, the Thil, and thus become an active, intermediate being who fights against sorcerers and all other harmful forces. The light wood is tinged with a beautiful semi-crusty, locally abraded dark patina. Long crack of desication running from the head to the bust.
When they are honored, these spirits show their benevolence in the form of abundant rains, good health, many births; Ignored, they remove it and lead to devastating epidemics, drought and ...