Tribal Art

Rare work, strange object of curiosity offering two heads on a hollowed bust around a miniature subject. This African statue Nkisi, nkishi (pl. mankishi) of the Songye is pierced with numerous nails. Different metals adorn the faces reminiscent of kifwebe masks. Thick black patina, locally grainy.
The Nkisi plays the role of mediator between god and men, responsible, among the Songye, for protecting against various evils. The large specimens are the collective property of an entire village, and the smaller figures belong to an individual or a family. 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Prestige spoon with anthropomorphic handle. The carved motif symbolizing an ancestor refers to the creation, when the first Makonde man would have carved a female image who became the mother of his children and who has been revered ever since. Matt patina, lacks, small accidents.
Height on base: 47 cm.
The Makonde, a matrilineal Bantu people of northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania, wore helmet masks called lipiko, mapiko, during initiation ceremonies for young people . The Makonde venerate an ancestor, which explains the abundance of relatively naturalistic female statuary. In addition to face masks, midimu, the Makonde also produce body masks featuring the female bust, exalting fertility.

African Mask Kakongo or Vili. This type of mask would have been the prerogative of the nganga, diviner-priest. Thick matte polychrome patina. Cracks and abrasions.
Height on base: 47 cm.
These mediating masks, also present in initiation processes, were used by witch doctors during healing rituals. At the same time, they were also used to identify individuals who, through their actions, could disturb the harmony of the community. In the 13th century, the Kongo people, led by their king Ne Kongo, settled in a region at the crossroads of the borders between the current DRC, Angola and Gabon. The "ntotela" king controlled the appointment of court and provincial officials.

Heavy stylized mask associated with monkey. The projecting forehead, flanked by ears, houses a concave space incised with slits for the eyes. Horizontal elements indicate the jaw. Oiled, velvety surface.
Erosions.
The Ko mask of the Dogon is one of three types of monkey masks: Dege figures a baboon, and the Ko and Omono masks depict thrush monkeys .
The monkeys feed on the fruit of the baobab tree and the ears of millet that they steal from the fields. This tribal mask was worn with a skirt made of sansevière fibers that concealed the dancer . The dancer's choreography was accompanied by warnings.
More than eighty types of Dogon masks are listed, of which the best known are the Kanaga, Sirigé, Satimbé, Walu. Most of them are used by the circumcised ...

Dogon mask of undetermined type, whose features are carved in a rather figurative way. A helmet frames the face, where sits a frail sculpted subject, linked to a being of the Dogon cosmogony, an ancestor or a spirit. Irregular surface, matte brown patina. Erosions and cracks.
More than eighty types of Dogon masks are listed, the best known of which are the Kanaga, Sirigé, Satimbé, Walu. Most of them are used by circumcised initiates of the Awa society, during funeral ceremonies. The Awa designates the masks, their costumes, and all the Dogons in the service of the masks. Some evoke animals, in reference to the rich cosmogony and mythology of African Dogon art. The "nyama", the mask's vital force, is activated by various rituals in order to develop the object's full magical ...

Sculpture whose curved center forms a support for divination techniques. Its janiform iconography, in relation to kifwebe masks, symbolizes a double question: with regard to the world of the living, and towards ancestors. Medium brown patina, desication cracks.

The Songye and the neighbouring ethnic groups share many institutions, including those related to divinatory rites. Thus in some areas luba songye-style sculptures were dedicated to divination techniques. The nganga will interpret the signs of movement of objects placed on the flat surface and rubbed on the support, in order to propose a solution to the misfortunes of its client.
Sye came from the Shaba region of the DRC and settled between the Lualaba River and the Sankuru River in the middle of the savannah and ...

Belgian African art collection.
Emblems of prestige, sculpted spoons are part of the regalia of African tribal art. This copy is distinguished by its anthropomorphic motif depicting a seated notable. This type of ritual object, an insignia of diginity, also evokes the power of the chief or the clan.

Height on base: 52 cm.
Glossy black-brown patina, desication cracks.
The Vili , the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembe, the Bwende, the Yombé and the Kôngo formed the Kôngo group, led by King ntotela . Their kingdom reached its peak in the 16th century with the trade in ivory, copper and the slave trade. With the same beliefs and traditions, they produced statuary endowed with codified gestures in keeping with their vision of the world.
Ref. :

The face masks of the akweya group, district of Akpa also called Okua, are mainly used during funerals of notorieties. The Idoma of the South, like the Igbo of the North, use masks of this type, many of whose characteristics have been borrowed from the Bokyi. Our copy, bleached with kaolin, would be of the ikpobi category, intended for young men, and formerly linked to war ceremonies. Height on base: 44 cm.
Abraded matte patina, cracks.
The Idoma, who are probably descendants of the Akopo, 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. The royal lineage members of their oglinye ...

This figure of male ancestor, with a prognathic jaw, was placed on the box of relics of the deceased, which was guarded by the esa , the oldest man in the family. Carved from light-coloured wood, now abrased, the statue bears residual traces of black pigments. The arms are proportionally reduced, the hands rest on a long cylindrical bust. The feet attached to a metal base are slightly eroded.
Fach the Fangs of Cameroon and Gabon, each family has a Byeri, or reliquary box, in which the bones of illustrious ancestors are preserved. These boxes were guarded by the oldest man in the village, the esa. The reliquary boxes were surmounted by a statue or head that acted as the guardian of the 'byeri' boxes, named as the cult to which they resemble. These were kept in a dark corner of the ...

Ex-collection African art Belgian.
Among the Dan, it is with the aim of being honored that the spirits manifest themselves during dreams. They indicate the details of the masks to be made. Each of the masks has a name related to its function. The duglé mask, of which this example is a rare variant, with a huge mouth, accompanies important ceremonies. The dark, lustrous patina of African Dan masks was obtained by immersion in mud baths. Shiny garnet brown patina, marks of use, gaps on the edges. Height on base: 45 cm.
Piece acquired by Mr. Guy Mercier, consultant for the Solvay group, who began at the beginning of the 20th century to bring together a vast collection of African tribal art. While radiating in West and Central Africa as part of his work, and collecting in-situ ...

Coated with a thick patina of grainy, stone-like relief, this African Dogon sculpture depicts a mythical being, an ancestor whose face, devoid of facial features, is extended by a long beard. 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, cult of the ancestors 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.

The original proportions of the rider and his horse, in the N'duleri style, mark the desire to personify chimerical beings and give all the grace of this Dogon sculpture. Very beautiful mottled, velvety, chipped patina.
Minor cracks and erosions.
The frequent representations of riders among the Dogon of Mali refer to their cosmogony and their complex religious myths. Indeed, one of the Nommos, ancestors of men, resuscitated by the creator god Amma, is said to have descended to earth carried by an ark transformed into a horse. In addition, the highest authority of the Dogon people, the religious leader named Hogon, paraded on his mount during his enthronement because according to custom he was not to set foot on the ground. In the region of the cliffs of Sangha, inaccessible ...

Bambara tribal art has produced a diversity of African masks.
Established in central and southern Mali, the Bambara,Bamana" or "unbelievers< /i> ", as the Muslims have called them, belong to the great Mande group. The society of Kore is divided into eight classes of initiates, the sixth of which is that of the hyenas, or surukuw.

Net, geometric and angular volumes , distinguish this type of animal masks where the long nose is associated with sensory and spiritual perception. Fine criss-crossing incisions stand out on the dark satin surface.
Erosions and cracks. Height on base: 55 cm.
Source: "Black African Animal Masks", G.Massa and C.Dewé. ed. Sepia.

Sporting an emaciated double face surmounting a long neck, this sculpture of a female bust with folded arms, erect and surrounded by cords, offers a double chest which constitutes its base. Various elements have been added: vegetable fiber cords, glass bead buckles, black metal ornaments. Losses, erosions and cracks from use.
br>"Mani" is a diminutive meaning "little person" which qualifies the human-faced African puppets used by the Bambara and Markha during didactic shows. This tradition of puppet theater is common to the multi-ethnic peoples living in the interior delta of the Niger, including the Bozo, in particular in the region of Ségou where it is called "sogobo". The Markha, also called Warka, live in the north of Bambara territory and have therefore been influenced by ...

Wooden animal form, coated with a thick cracked crusty patina.br>
Carved for the most part on order placed by a family, the Dogon tribal statues can also be the object of worship on the part of the whole community when they commemorate, for example, the foundation of the village. These statues, sometimes embodying the nyama of the deceased, are placed on altars of ancestors and take part in various rituals, including those of the sowing and harvesting periods. 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 ...

Sculpted subject frozen in a rare tilting movement protruding the buttocks, the head slightly oriented towards the side of the arm whose hand grasps the phallus. The body and face of the ancestor are incised with scarifications. The dry, furrowed surface is imprinted with various traces of libations. Deep erosions, cracks.
Sculpted 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 ...

Seated, the naked subject presents scarified body motifs, a hairstyle composed of braids assembled in shells. He brings his hand to the breast, in a gesture relating to fertility, the second touches his thigh. Black greasy patina, encrusted residues of kaolin, lacks.
Gifts of women, food, festive ceremonies, and honorable status once rewarded dan carvers who were granted this talent during a dream. The latter was the means of communication of Du, invisible spiritual power, with men. Statuary, rare, had a prestigious role with its owner. These are mainly effigies of wives, lü mä, wooden human beings. These are not incarnations of spirits or effigies of ancestors, but prestige figures representing living people, often commissioned by the chiefs, whose names the statues will bear. ...

Uncommon version of the "Kpélié" or "jumping mask", worn during initiations symbolically marking a death followed by a rebirth. The side growths and horns are present, however it is a reference to the hornbill that appears at the top. The pointed lower lip suggests the presence of a labret. Locally grainy matte patina, beige brown, cracking. Height on base: 73 cm.
The African Sénufo masks are worn by male members of the Poro society, an institution that controls political and economic life. Kept in the sacred enclosure named sezang in order to hide them from the gaze of the uninitiated, their function is to honor the elders or even appear at funerals. Anthropomorphic masks would primarily chase the spirit of the deceased from its place of residence. Named “wife of the Dô” by ...