Tribal Art

The Ijos in the centre produce relatively schematic sculptures associated with water geniuses (owuamapu), such as this head with a stretched face, on which the features protrude under a tubular forehead. Magical virtues were attributed to this type of sculpture. Many tribes are convinced that these objects acquire their powers through the rites and consecrations to which they are subjected and during which libations and dances can be performed. Interesting grainy grey patina, locally cracked. Height on a base: 52 cm.

The Ijaw are a group of Peoples of West Africa, mainly present in southern Nigeria, in the Niger Delta. At the beginning of the 17th century they migrated further west of the continent to form the Krou peoples of Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Guinea and Sierra ...

Collection of French African tribal art, the name of the collector will be communicated to the buyer.
This African figure Mumuye of the first generation, created by the sculptor rati or even molabaiene, is anchored on vigorous legs, the bust in a slight inclination . Distinguished by their structure, their hairstyle and their large pierced ears, these statues not only made it possible to call down rain but also played an apotropaic and divinatory role.
Patina of heterogeneous use. Abrasions, erosions and desiccation cracks.
The statuary emanating from the north-west region of middle Benoué, from the Kona Jukun, to the Mumuye and up to the Wurkun populations is distinguished by a relative absence of ornamentation and a refined stylization. The 100,000 Adamawa ...

Ex American tribal art collection.

Consecrated by the nganga, endowed with a magic charge (bilongo) housed in a box closed by a mirror, this statuette meets the criteria of nksi objects. The Vili produced a variety of sculptures of individual use nkisi , to which multiple virtues were attributed. The glazed eyes, encircled with resin, symbolize clairvoyance in a face with naturalistic features. Various accessories are present, some of which would accentuate the power of the object, metal in the form of a padlock, basketry backpack lined with textile, headdress made of leather, strips of fabric and feathers. Eroded base. Chocolate shiny patina.
The Vili, the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembé, the Bwende, the Yombé and the Kôngo formed the group Kôngo, led by the king ...

Small anthropomorphic figure, devoid of arms, with a bust wrapped in cords, metal and garnished with cowries. The top of the head was hollowed out to receive various substances for a ritual purpose. These statuettes are said to relate to the ancestors.

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

Statuette representing a kneeling hermaphrodite figure, hands resting on his thighs. This type of sculpture associated with an individual cult adorned the Dogon family altar. Thick and dense grainy patina in greyish browns.
Carved for the most part on commission by a family, Dogon statues can also be the object of worship by the entire community. Their functions remain little known, however. In parallel with Islam, Dogon religious rites are organized around four main cults: the Lebe, relating to fertility, under the spiritual authority of the Hogon, the Wagem, the cult of the ancestors under the authority of the patriarch, the Binou invoking the world of the spirits and directed by the priest of the Binou, and the society of the masks concerning funerals.

Ample distended ears frame the face, moreover underlined by a crenellated beard and topped with a high tiara, of this sculpted figure. The assertive posture brings out the bulbous abdomen on which the hands rest. Locally peeling dark patina. Erosions, gaps, and desication cracks.

The Jukuns are a population of West and Central Africa living mainly in Nigeria in the upper Bénoué Valley, also in northwestern Cameroon.
Thanks to the he expansion of the old Jukun Empire, the Jukun or Wurbo of Nigeria scattered into two groups: one established south of the Donga River, and the second north of the region, near the Mumuye and the Wurkum. The attacks of the Chambas first of all, then of the Fulani then, contributed to the extinction of this kingdom. Their king Aka uku, ...

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 ...

Kouyou figures represented frontally, the hands placed near the armpits, under prestigious necklaces. Their scarifications would refer to the scales of the mythical serpent Djo, which would have created the world and father of Ebongo, primordial hybrid ancestor of men. Polychrome matte patina, abrasions, and cracks.
Two totemic clans once formed the Kuyu ethnic group, living along the river of the same name, in the northwest of the People's Republic of Congo: to the west that of the panther, and to the east that of the snake. A secret male association, Ottoté, played an important political role in the appointment of chiefs. The initiation of young people ended with the revelation of the serpent god Ebongo represented in the form of a head. The Kibe-kibe dances that accompanied ...

Endowed with a tubular excrescence for gripping, this sculpture of a female figure is fixed in a classical attitude, palms arranged around the abdomen, legs disappearing into a pedestal forming a pestle called " sedine " or " dol " according to the dialect. The figuration of bracelets around the wrists and waist should be noted: In order to honor the wisdom and knowledge of the elders, the Senoufo adorned themselves with jewels that could also be placed on the altars. Brown-black oiled patina, glossy. Cracks of desiccation, localized erosions.
These figurative tribal statues Debele , Deblé , sometimes called " child of Poro " or " bush spirit ", were used in pairs during funeral processions or during ceremonies marking the end of initiation rites. The initiates of the ...

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.

Bronze sculptures referring to the primordial ancestors of the Dogon. These African Dogon statues, in bronze, indeed evoke the Nommos, mythical beings at the origin of creation among the Dogon of Mali. Greenish patina.

The Dogon are a people renowned for their cosmogony, their esotericism, their myths and legends. Their population is estimated at around 300,000 souls living in the south-west of the Niger loop in the Mopti region of Mali (Bandiagara, Koro, Banka), near Douentza and part of northern Burkina (north-west of Ouahigouya ). Remains of old steelworks on the Bandiagara plateau, dating from the 15th century, confirm the activity of the blacksmiths. The latter form an endogamous caste among the Dogon called irim They now produce weapons, tools, and also work with ...

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.

Songye hermaphrodite statue remarkable for the majesty of the head carriage on a stretched, ringed neck, the discreet expressiveness of the features, the rectilinear bust. Lighter, the base must have originally been hidden under a textile. Glossy mahogany patina. Good general condition.
The Songye fetish, magical sculpture Nkisi , nkishi (pl. mankishi), plays the role of mediator between gods and men. In the 16th century, the Songyes migrated from the Shaba region to settle in Kasai, Katanga and South Kivu. Their history is inseparable from that of the Luba to whom they are related through common ancestors. Very present in their society, divination made it possible to discover sorcerers and to shed light on the causes of the misfortunes which struck individuals.
Lit. : "The ...

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 ...

This statue fragment, an African head singiti hemba, carved by the bwana mutombo, presents a haughty character proper to Hemba statuary. The frame of the face is enhanced by a fine tiara and a chiselled beard collar. Usually made of iroko, these objects were revered by a particular clan and stored in burial chambers in the chief's house.
Grainy light brown patina. Erosions and cracks.
Height on base: 42 cm.
The Hemba have long been subject to the neighboring Luba empire, which has had a certain influence on their culture, their religion and their art. Ancestor worship is central to Hemba society. Genealogy is indeed the guarantor of privileges and the distribution of land. All aspects of the community are imbued with the authority of the ancestors. Thus, these are ...

Despite a face with somewhat zoomorphic details enlivened by large pupils, this Mumuye statue, of an unusual figurative style, stands out for its frail and graceful adolescent morphology. Two-tone satin patina, abrasions and gaps.
The statuary emanating from the north-west region of middle Benoué, from the Kona Jukun, to the Mumuye and up to the Wurkun populations is distinguished by a relative absence of ornamentation and a refined stylization. The 100,000 Adamawa language speakers form a group called Mumuye and are grouped into villages divided into two groups: those of fire (tjokwa) relating to blood and the color red, guardians of the vabong cult and those of water (tjozoza ), linked to humidity and white color. Their iagalagana statues were stored in a box, tsafi, reserved ...

French African art collection.
Intriguing fetishes that are Songye sculptures...the only accessories with which this ritual statue is equipped consist of a thin tie girdling the hips and a skin coil around the ringed neck. The kifwebe mask of the Bwadi ka bifwebe society appears here in a janiform appearance.
Satin patina, locally glossed, cracks.
The fetish Songye , magical sculpture Nkisi , nkishi (pl. mankishi ) , plays the role of mediator between gods and men. If the large specimens are the collective property of a whole village, the more modest figures belong to an individual or a family. In the 16th century, the Songyes migrated from the Shaba region to settle in Kasai, Katanga and South Kivu. Their society is organized in a patriarchal manner. ...

The raised arms of this Dogon tribal statuette would constitute a gesture of contrition following an original fault or even a call for rain.
The irregular surface is grainy, locally flaking, abrasions and desiccation cracks.

The south of the plateau dominating the Bandiagara cliff has been occupied since the 10th century by the Tellem and the Niongom. They were then displaced by the Dogon in the 15th century, who fled the Mandé. The Tellem became the ancestors of the Kurumba of Burkina Faso. Dogon statuary is not easily distinguished from that of the Tellem and nor from that of the Niongom because reciprocal influences have manifested themselves over the centuries . A recurrence: the characters with arms raised above their heads, in an invocation position, which would be an ...

Anthropomorphic figure whose vertically propelled arms are accompanied by a crenellation running up to the kidneys, accentuating the dynamism of the subject. The effort in pushing seems to be imprinted on the facial features, while the bending of the long legs suggests energetic participation. Deep and thick black patina, lustrous, minor flaking.
The south of the plateau dominating the Bandiagara cliff has been occupied since the 10th century by the Tellem and the Niongom. They were then displaced by the Dogon in the 15th century, who fled the Mandé. Dogon statuary is difficult to distinguish from that of the Tellem and Niongom. A recurrence: the characters with their arms raised above their heads, in an invocation position, an act of contrition following a drought which would have ...

Equipped with an anthropomorphic cap reproducing the shape of traditional dolls, the container is fitted with a carrying strap.

The Zaramo and the tribes that surround them, such as the Kwéré, designed dolls generally associated with fertility, but to which other virtues would be attributed. Its primary role is played during the period of confinement of the young initiate Zaramo. The novice will behave towards the object as with a child, and will dance with it during the closing ceremonies of the initiation. In case the young woman does not conceive, she will adopt the "child". Among the Zaramo and the Kwéré, this sculpted motif is taken up on the top of canes, decorates ritual objects and even appears on burial posts.

Tribes in the southeastern region of the DRC around Lake Tanganyika, such as the Tumbwe and the Tabwa, worshiped the mipasi ancestors through sculptures held by chiefs or witch doctors. A magical charge ( dawa )was inserted at the top of the statues' heads. Our female figure does indeed have a charge inserted at the top of the head. The diviners-healers ngango used this type of statuette-fetish to reveal witchcraft and protect against malevolent spirits.
Satin golden brown patina, cracks and abrasions.

Simple cultivators without centralized power, the Tabwa federated around tribal chiefs after coming under the influence of the Luba. It was mainly during this period that their artistic current was expressed mainly through statues but also masks. The ...