Tribal Art

Equipped with frightening features, this type of African initiation mask, Mbuya, of the Pende, was supposed to incorporate a particularly threatening character.
Black patina, drying cracks, abrasions. Height on base: 50 cm.

The Western Pende live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the Easterners have established themselves on the banks of the Kasai downstream of Tshikapa. The Mbuya masks, realistic, produced every ten years, have a festive function, and embody different characters difficult to differentiate without their costume, including the fumu or chief. ufumu, the diviner and his wife, the prostitute, the jester, tundu, the possessed, etc... Mbuya initiation masks linked to mukanda< initiation /i> and those of power, the minganji, represent the ancestors and ...

Nature spirits, the ngesh , were believed to be embodied in Kuba masks during the dances. The footprints of the dancers were then erased so as not to "hurt" the women venturing into the dance area. The mask on the other side appeared during initiation ceremonies, sometimes at the funerals of notables. This warrior mask, not belonging to the royal masks, named Ishyeen imaalu and also Pwoom itok , belonged to the babende society. It has exorbitant conical pupils set off by eyebrows extended with horns that refer to warrior headdresses. The pigments of the decorative motifs remain very weakly visible. Misses and cracks of desiccation. Height on base: 44 cm. The Kuba kingdom was founded in the 16th century by the main Bushoong tribe which is still ruled by a king today, and whose ...

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 ...

This female figure with slender arms, an arched bust, wears traditional scarifications and tattoos. The body stretched forward, the hands resting on the abdomen, highlight the umbilicus, symbol of filiation. Cracks and abrasions. Satin patina.
The Senoufos, the name given to them by French settlers, are mainly made up of farmers who have dispersed between Mali, Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso. Councils of elders, headed by an elected chief, administer Senufo villages. Each of them has its own Poro association which initiates young boys from the age of seven in a succession of three cycles lasting seven years. They gather in a sacred enclosure called sinzanga located near the village, among the trees. Upon the death of one of the members of the Poro, the statues named pombibele were ...

The "inverted doubles" in the African art sculptures of Les Baule
Offering crystallized residues of ritual practices, this statuette Blobo bia, or bloblo bla, embodies a spiritual spouse. She adopts the traditional posture, hands enhancing the umbilical region. This type of object is carved according to the indications of the diviner. Chipped polychrome patina. Desication cracks.
About sixty ethnic groups populate Côte d'Ivoire, including the Baoulé, 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 masks carved. Two types of statues are produced by the Baoulé , Baulé , within the ritual framework: The Waka-Sona statues, "being of wood" in baoulé, evoke a assié oussou, ...

African sculpture whose singular face offers featureless features and a gaping mouth. The massive head, set into prominent shoulders, is decorated with a crest and a goatee. The volume of the pelvis is supported by wide, crenellated, arched legs. This type of statue was intended for funeral and initiation rites. Thick cracked patina, drying cracks.

The Kaka, or Keaka, ethnic group, so named by the German settlers, is located in a border area between Nigeria and Cameroon. Their statuary demonstrates a certain influence from other ethnic groups such as the Mumuye whose statues also present short, bent legs topped by a slender body. Their very thick and crusty patina, their wide feet and their wide open mouth are, however, typical features allowing them to be distinguished from ...

Rare Byeri ancestor figure, a singularly naturalistic work of a woman with a muscular and fleshy body. The crested headdress is underlined with metal, linear scarifications vertically divide the face.
Velvety patina, abrasions of use and erosions of the base. Desication crack.
The peoples known as the Fang, or "Pahouins", qualified as conquering warriors, invaded by successive leaps, from village to village, the entire vast region between the Sanaga in Cameroon and the Ogooué in Gabon, between the 18th and the beginning of the 20th century. The boxes containing the relics of illustrious ancestors were guarded by the oldest man in the village, the "esa". Surmounted by a statue or a head that acted as guardian of the "byeri" boxes, they were stored in a dark corner of ...

Dedicated to a protective genius, this voluminous version of the African maskNam Gbalang or Lang Badna is a powerful symbol associated with the Vara cult.

This mask associated with the wild and dangerous spirit of the buffalo appears during the rites of passage of the Kaa festival and during high-ranking funerals.

According to some, this mask represents a queen whose Chamba lineage claims to descend from the forest buffalo.
The rounded dome of the mask, evoking a skull, is associated with death and ancestors.
The other characteristics are linked to the wild world of nature, so the mouth symbolizes the jaws of the crocodile. The Nam Gbalang mask is danced with a costume made of raffia which completely covers the body of the man who wears ...

African Nkisi, nkishi (pl. mankishi )statue of the Songye, whose head takes on the features of the kifwebe mask. The arms surround the bust, providing, as dictated by custom, a space to grasp the sculpture with metal hooks. Here, the magical bishimba charge appears to have been introduced at the top of the head from which a horn rises. The piece has likely been stripped of its accessories.
Grayish brown matte patina with kaolin encrusted residue. Slight lacks on the base and abrasions. These protective fetishes for homes are among the most prized in Africa. The Nkisi plays the role of mediator between god and men, responsible for protecting against various evils. The large examples are the collective property of a whole village, and the smaller figures belong to an ...

Thick, lumpy patina of use for this African animal mask offering outwardly erect ears, a protruding forehead, a blunt nose and a large, toothy grin. Seams resulting from ritual libations. Slight residual pigments, red ochre, additionally appear at the ears under the crusty coating.
Desiccation cracks and abrasions.
The Dogon people are renowned in African tribal art for the myths and beliefs relating to their cosmogony.
The 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).They produce more than 80 types of masks, the best known of which are the Kanaga , Sirigé , Satimbé , Walu . Most of them are used by ...

Collection African tribal art Belgian
Present along the Gabonese coast, the Vili broke away from the Kongo kingdom in the 16th century and the Loango kingdom became a powerful state. Now mostly urbanized, they still integrate traditional associations, depending on the cult of ancestors such as Mbouiti or Bieri. Just like the Kongo group, in order to protect themselves against witchcraft and various scourges, they produce a wide variety of magical ritual objects of the nkisi type. Their masks are used by the Ndunga or Djembe association, but also for the funerals of dignitaries and during traditional initiations. Still others are reserved for diviners.
The Vili, the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembé, the Bwende, the Yombé and the Kôngo formed the Kôngo group, led by king ...

African authorship expressionist style. The legs in flexion, the protruding bust extended by the arms emphasizing the concave bust, contribute to the energy expressed by the face. This type of statue was used during funeral, initiation or even therapeutic rites. Thick brown cracked patina. Cracks and erosions.

The Kaka, or Keaka, ethnic group, so named by the German settlers, is located in a border area between Nigeria and Cameroon. Their statuary demonstrates a certain influence from other ethnic groups such as the Mumuye whose statues also present short, bent legs topped by a slender body. Their very thick and crusty patina, their wide feet and their wide open mouth are, however, typical features allowing them to be distinguished from neighboring ethnic groups.

Ex-collection of French African tribal art.
It is through different secret societies that Bambara initiates acquire their knowledge, including that of Koré, targeting elders and during which zoomorphic masks are used. The society of Koré is divided into eight classes of initiates, the sixth of which is that of hyenas, or surukuw.

Mask bearing traces of use , tooth implantation orifices.
Velvety matte patina, erosions.

Established in central and southern Mali, in a savannah area, the Bambara, "Bamana" or "unbelievers", as the Muslims called them, belong to the large Mande group, with the Soninke and the Malinke. Groups of Bambara nyamakala artisans, more specifically blacksmiths called numu, are responsible for carving ritual objects, endowed with nyama ...

Witnesses to the traditions of the Hopi Indian peoples of Arizona, Katsinam sculpted objects (song. Kachina) are expressed during traditional dances accompanying the annual rain festivals. This Hopi-type mask presents an animal skin helmet trimmed with fur trim, feathers, raffia ribbon, dried corn cob nose. It is framed by a large panel painted with polychrome decorative motifs on each of its sides. The hues would indicate the nature of the spirit represented. The patina is matte, abrasions and small accidents.

Made by the Mbanza or Banja, cousins of the Ngbaka in Ubangi, this sculpted human figure has a face framed by very large ears encompassing the arches and the jaw. Its functions are similar to those of the Ngbaka, as part of therapeutic rites or in preparation for hunting. Abrasions.
The Ubangian crucible has produced many statuettes that share certain similarities, such as a heart-shaped face, as in the Ogooué River region in Gabon. The Ngbaka form a homogeneous people from the northwest of the D.R.C., south of Ubangui. The Ngandi live in the east and the Ngombe in the south. Ref : "Art of Sub-saharan Africa" C. Mullen Kreamer.

Prestigious sculptures in the African art of Mali
This wooden sculpture depicts an indeterminate animal on which is perched a subject treated in a very schematic way. According to Gabriel Massa, only wealthy people can order this type of prestigious, rare sculpture from the blacksmith, intended for individual worship.
Old grainy patina, and desication cracks.
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, 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 ...

Anthropomorphic figure in bronze evoking a young Mossi woman. A ritual statuette supposed to help in conception, it was made in metal by the Mossi blacksmith, who was also in charge of the carved wooden examples. The use of dolls by young African women is not exclusively within the context of initiation. When menstruation appears, the young girl is considered as a potential mother. In many ethnic groups, the search for fertility is then done through initiation rites. Wooden figures are then carved, some reflecting both genders, often dressed in beads and clothes. During the period of seclusion, the doll, which becomes a child that requires daily feeding, washing and anointing, becomes the girl's only companion. After the initiation, they will be carried on the back of the women, or ...

Semi-spherical, crossed by an excrescence joining the orifice of the mouth and whose upper end is divided into antennae, this zoomorphic mask is hollowed out with circular eyes with perforated contours. Ears are sketched in height on either side of the pupils, while linear scarifications are drawn locally. Soft black satin patina, chipped areas, abrasions and desication cracks.
Height on base: 37 cm. The Ogoni live along the coasts of Nigeria, near the mouth of the Cross-River, south of the Igbo and west of the Ibibio. Their carvings vary from village to village, but are mainly renowned for their hinged-jaw masks like some Ekpo Ibibio masks. Their masks were usually worn at funerals, festivities accompanying plantings and harvests, but also more recently to welcome distinguished ...

This rare dignitary's headdress was carefully made in basketry, adorned with human hair and lined with braided raffia plaits. It is worn during enthronement ceremonies accompanied by traditional dances within the kingdom of Oku, in the northwest of Cameroon, in the Grasslands region at the border region of Nigeria. This chiefdom is populated mainly by two ethnic groups: nomadic pastoralists 'Fulani' and semi-Bantu farmers 'Nso, Oku and Kom'. The kingdom of Oku is renowned for the diversity of its religious production, its magical and therapeutic rites practiced by soothsayers and sorcerers.

Ex-collection of African tribal art from Belgium.
A face with metal-rimmed pupils and a carefully crafted hairstyle for this large African so-called "racing" mask. The chin is lined with bells and sachets of various ingredients. Height on base: 65 cm.
Masks equipped with round orbits (gunye ge), facilitating vision, are part of the set of northern Dan masks and are used for racing events during the dry season. The zapkei ge, also equipped with circular orbits, are responsible for preventing fires by watching over domestic fires. Among the Dan, or Yacouba, living in the west of the Ivory Coast and in Liberia, the "dü" force which would animate the world would manifest itself in the sculpted masks. According to the Dan, the spirits indicate how to name the mask they wish to ...

The African art sculptures of the Bobo, Bwa, Kurumba and Mossi, living in Burkina Faso, frequently take up and combine stylized elements borrowed from men, animals or even insects. In the center of the hollowed-out pupils, surmounting a zoomorphic mouth, runs the sinuous figure of a serpent. The decorative motifs traced on the contours of the mask are inspired by traditional scarifications. Chipped matte patina.
Mossi masks are an embodiment of ministering spirits offering their support. They perform at burials, funerals of clan chiefs, protect crops. Their appearance is now frequent during entertainment shows. Upper Volta, Burkina Faso since independence, is made up of the descendants of the Nakomse invaders, horsemen from Ghana, and the Tengabibisi, descendants of the natives. ...