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 ...

This sculpture formed the top of a mumuye vertical crest mask. Masks of this nature, associated with agrarian ceremonies to promote harvests, health, and human fertility, were used by neighboring groups, Wurkun/Bikwin, Mumuye, and Jukun, established in the middle Benoué. The wearer of the mask was presumably balancing it on his head. br />
The face is topped with a crest evoking the hairstyles of the group. Elements are enhanced with polychrome pigments, and patterns associated with the scarifications in use are inscribed on the surface.
Satin patina, abrasions and erosions.
The 100,000 Adamawa language speakers form a group called Mumuye and are grouped into villages, dola, divided into two groups: those of fire ( tjokwa ) relating to blood and the color ...

Female sculpture, from central Tanzania, where the Nyamezi and Sukuma live. Carried by high spread legs, the wide bust offers conical breasts balancing a protruding buttocks. In the center of a round head, the eyes are sunken while oversized ears contrast with discreet features. Glossy black patina. Abrasions, desiccation cracks.
The Nyamwezi, Nyamézi, form the largest group among the tribes living in north central Tanzania. Coming from diverse origins, although sharing the same cultural specificities, their ritual and artistic production consequently presents very different formal aspects. The cult of ancestors and chiefs, of major importance within their culture, marked their statuary. The Sukuma and the Nyamézi produced statues represented in a static position, some of which, ...

Female statuette whose tip of the chin rests on the bust. The oval head offers large, flat strokes. The straight back reveals an arched buttocks and a slightly protruding abdomen on which the hands rest. The joined, stocky legs disappear into a circular base. The vigorous size, clearing the main planes, is representative of Lobi sculpture. Matte patina imprinted with probably libation residues.
Desication cracks.
This Bateba figure is supposed to embody a spirit of the bush, the Thil, and thus become an intermediary in the fight against sorcerers and all other evil forces. These spirits are represented by wooden or copper sculptures called Bateba (large or small, figurative or abstract, they adopt different attitudes that symbolize the particular power or talent that the ...

This clan ancestor figure is brought in to contain the mystical charge called Bonga. It was then wrapped in a textile that was to hold the load in its receptacle. The face is streaked with traditional scarifications. The clan leader had this type of sculpture adorning an altar. Brilliant cracked patina. Desication cracks.
Andeblis between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon, the Téké 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 clan leader, ngantsed , kept the great protective fetish tring hated who oversaw all the ceremonies. It was the mighty sorcerer and soothsayer who charged magical elements, for ...

Heavy African mask with a vertical ridge on the forehead. This is a striking feature of statuary from the area between the Guro and the Bétés. The braided hairstyle is neatly represented by parallel streaks. This mask, whose function remains poorly documented, would symbolize masculine strength, and perhaps also a powerful notable named "migone". Glossy dark patina, cracks and abrasions.
The Bété form a tribe established on the left bank of the Sassandra River in the south-west of the Ivory Coast. Close to the Kouya and the Niabwa, the making of their masks, as well as their function, have great similarities.

"Guro" ed. 5Continents.

In African art, the Bamiléké demonstrate their know-how through the use of multicolored beads.
This monoxyle seat having the appearance of a table, named rü mfo among the Bamum, presents human figurative motifs enhanced by contrasting colours. A basic structure is carved in wood and then covered, above a raffia canvas, with a latticework of imported multicolored beads. br>
Located in the border region of Nigeria, the North West Province of Cameroon, the Grassland is made up of several ethnic groups: Tikar, Anyang, Widekum, Chamba, Bamoun, or Bamum and Bamileke. Several centralized chiefdoms, or kingdoms, based on customary associations, secret societies, are organized around the Fon who has broad powers. Among the Bamilékés of Sudano-Bantu origin, as in other ethnic ...

This naturalistic African mask would have been the prerogative of the nganga, priest-seer. Her mediumistic abilities, which the Kongo thought they favored by taking hallucinogenic substances, are revealed by the hollowed-out gaze and the lower eyelids underlined in red like the gaping mouth. This type of mask was called ngobudi in reference to something dreadful, terrorizing. Brilliant polychrome patina.
Height on base: 40 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 ...

As if carved in stone, this mask features a face with a brow bone, a thick nose and jaw. Comparatively narrow, the eyelids have a slight asymmetry. Long, rectangular ear flaps run along the face, which is topped with a crenellated horizontal crest. Abraded speckled patina.
The Ibibios are a people of West Africa, mainly present in the south-east of Nigeria (State of Akwa Ibom), but also in Ghana, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Secret societies are numerous among the Ibibio settled west of the Cross River. Without a centralized government, their social organization is comparable to that of the neighboring Igbo. Ancestor worship is under the authority of the highest-ranking members of the Ekpo. The latter use masks such as the idiok, related to fallen spirits, and the mfon, ...

Consecrated by the nganga, equipped with symbolic accessories and talismans placed between the metal elements, this statuette meets the criteria of nksi objects. The Vili produced a variety of carvings for individual use nkisi, to which multiple virtues were attributed.
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 . With the same beliefs and traditions, their statuary is endowed with a codified gesture in relation to their vision of the world. 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. The nganga sorcerers, both healers, were in charge of religious activities and mediation towards the God ...

This African mask Makonde would embody an ancestral spirit. The ancestors would return masked in order to mark their satisfaction following the initiation. The modeling of the face in which the features pierce gives a particular naturalism to this mask which reveals an old yellow patina covering a first flesh-colored coating. In view of the perforations on the sides, accessories (hair, textiles, etc.) had to adorn the head. Abrasions, chips and cracks. br> Height on base: 30 cm.
The Makonde of northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania wore helmet masks called lipiko during initiation ceremonies for young people. The Makonde venerate an ancestor, which explains the abundance of naturalistic female statuary. Besides the face masks worn during mapiko dances and ngoma ceremonies that ...

In African art, sculpted works or N 'Kétuok , in Bamiléké country, are distinguished by a regular use of cowries and pearls, sewn on a raffia canvas, marrying in a learned polychromy. . The latter make it possible to identify the chiefdom from which they come. These prestigious statues representing servants, were arranged alongside the royal throne on the occasion of certain ceremonies and originate from one of the nine Bangwa kingdoms located in the west of the Bamiléké country.
The body position is classic with the lower and upper limbs bent. The neck is highlighted by a series of multicolored necklaces ending in a plastron.
Among the Bamiléké as in other ethnic groups, works of art testified to their owner's place in society. Thus, the materials and shapes of the ...

The Ibeji, surrogate images in African art .
Traditionally carved from iroko, whose roots and leaves are also used for ritual purposes, this stocky "ere" (statue) figure of a twin has been vigorously carved. The massive head, from which the eyes protrude, is framed by large ears and engraved with scarification marks.
Satin patina, erosions. In the language of the Yoruba people, ibeji means twin: ibi for born and eji for two. They represent the figure of a deceased twin. This ibedji is then treated as the missing child would have been. It is the mother who must take care of him; she can wash and feed him regularly. If she dies, it is the remaining twin who takes over.
Sometimes a man would also have ibeji carved for his wife to induce pregnancy. As a carrier of ...

Closing systems of the Sudanese regions in African art This old Dogon door evokes the rich Dogon cosmogony. According to Dogon mythology, the first inhabitants of the Bandiagara area crossed the river on the back of a crocodile. The door consists of three vertical planks held by a lintel decorated with diamond patterns. The motifs present on the doors in Mali, apart from their decorative value, are intended to deter the intruder, whether human or animal, from entering. The locks, like the doors, are cut in wood chosen according to the function of the building in which they will be used. Because each plant is attributed specific virtues. Beautiful patina of dark use, locally abraded.

A source of inspiration for sculptors, wild and domestic animals also form the subjects of puppet masks such as this ancient and imposing animal figure of an ox or a cow which is extended by a handle.
Matte polychrome patina, erosions and desication cracks. Height on base: 61 cm.

The Bozo , fishermen and farmers for the most part, live in the northern part of the Bambara country in the interior delta of the Niger and still remain semi-nomadic today, moving their homes according to seasonal floods. Mande-speaking people, they speak Sorogama. Within their group, we distinguish the Sorko or Sorogo, the Hain, and the Tie. Besides their remarkable masks, the Bozo and the Bambara are famous for their puppets of various sizes and frequently articulated, exhibited during the ...

Evoking a miniature stool, this cup for grinding ingredients such as tobacco, spices or pigments, is carried by four curved legs on which human features are engraved. Dark brown satin patina, locally lightened. Desication crack.
For the Dan of Côte d'Ivoire, also called Yacouba, two very distinct universes oppose each other: that of the village, made up of its inhabitants, its animals, and that of the forest, its vegetation and the animals and spirits that live there. populate. For these spirits to settle, a specific area of the forest is designated and still preserved outside the dan villages. Sacrifices are also required in order to communicate through these spirits. Different types of dan masks have been listed, each with a specific function.

Mask with a particularly naturalistic model allowing the skeleton of a face to be imagined. Missing on one ear. Reddish brown patina encrusted with ocher deposits.
Height on base: 33 cm.

In the southern coastal region of Tanzania, around Dar-es-Salaam, a relatively homogeneous group produced most of the artistic productions. It includes the Swahili, Kaguru, Doé, Kwéré, Luguru, Zaramo, Kami. The second region is made up of a territory covering southern Tanzania to Mozambique, where some Makonde and the Yao, the Ngindo, Mwéra, and Makua live. In the North-East of Tanzania, the Chaga, Paré, Chamba, Zigua, Massaï, Iraqw, Gogo, and Héhé have an artistic production presenting similarities with Malagasy and Batak art, which could be explained by commercial exchanges by Sea ...

Justice rituals and African Fang masks. The protruding forehead, extended by a powerful nose, dominates here the flatness of the face in which the eyes and the mouth are incised. The engraved motifs, referring to the scarifications in use, are enhanced with pink ocher and black. An exceptional patina of use is partially flaking, erosions mark the contours.

Dense wood, dry abraded patina. Cracks of desiccation.
The appearance of these masks coated with kaolin (the white color evokes the power of the ancestors), in the middle of the night, could cause dread. This type of mask was used by the male ngil society in northwestern Gabon, southern Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea. This secret society was in charge of initiations and fought against witchcraft.
The ngil ...

Sculpture evoking a female ancestor whose massive head wears a tiara incised with bars. At the back of the head, the hairstyle is organized in a cruciform element. The body is proportionally compacted, the hands joining the abdomen. Usually made of iroko, these ritual sculptures were venerated by a particular clan and stored in a funerary room in the chief's house. Locally matted patina. Desiccation cracks, missing parts. The Hemba, established in southeastern Zaire on the right bank of the Lualaba, were long subject to the neighboring Luba empire, which had a definite influence on their culture, religion, and art. Ancestor worship, whose effigies have long been attributed to the Luba, is central to hemba society. Genealogy is indeed the guarantor of privileges and land ...

Streaked with vertical marks, the face of this human figurine has half-closed eyes stretched towards the temples, like some of the traditional masks of the group. The posture is rectilinear, the bust however hardly inclined forward, and the tips of the fingers rest on the pelvis. A hole on the top of the head has been filled in, suggesting that a horn must have been inserted. Lustrous patina, golden brown. Tribe of the Tabwa group, the Rungu are established in a region between the D.R.C. (Democratic Republic of Congo), Zambia and Tanzania. Under the influence of the neighboring Lubas and Bemba, the Rungu produced prestigious objects for dignitaries, stools, combs, spoons and scepters, frequently decorated with figures of couples or twins evoking the primordial ancestors. Their ...

The therapeutic figures of the Kasongos, used by healers, were inspired by Songye fetishes. The magical charge, composed of ingredients of various origins, was inserted into the head cavity. The very dense wood is inlaid with metal like the Songye fetishes. The head of this stocky character, established in a quasi-crouched posture, is a Kasongo specificity. Matt patina. Abrasions, erosions and cracks.
The Kusu established on the left bank of the Lualaba have borrowed the artistic traditions of the Luba and the Hemba and possess a caste system similar to that of the Luba . The Kasongos form a Kusu subgroup, now scattered among the Luba, Songye, and Hemba. The singiti statues were kept by the fumu mwalo and honored in ceremonies during which sacrifices were ...