Tribal Art

Large African animal sculpture that refers to the primordial bird that is one of the five animals of the Senufo cosmogony, the first stage of Senufo creation, the hornbill. It is evoked for morphological and behavioral criteria. The tapered beak is "interpreted as the representation of the male sexual organ" perpetuating the life of the community. The patina is polychrome. Erosions on the base and minimal cracks.
Linked to the Poro society which initiated young boys from the age of seven in a succession of three cycles lasting seven years, this sculpture of Setien was placed in the sacred enclosure , where , despite its weight, carried on the head during a procession. The great initiates consider his bulging belly as the spiritual gestation of newcomers within the Poro. Poro is ...

Magical sculpture named Nkisi , nkishi (pl. mankishi ), it is a protective fetish of the Songye consisting of a cylindrical body and a head in the shape of the Kifwebe striped mask. The large digitized hands rest above a desecrated cavity, the magic charge being absent. This type of object feared by the Songye was moved by iron rods inserted under the arms of the sculpture. This copy has been equipped with wooden chopsticks for its handling. A necklace of tubular beads and an abundance of cotton cords and raffia rods adorn the bust of the sculpture.
Mate and kaolin brown patina.
These home protection fetishes are among the most prized in Africa. They could not be touched directly, which is why they were held with rods. Nkishi plays the role of mediator between gods and humans ...

This African statuette, Blolo bia, would form a personalized incarnation of the "spouse from beyond". Beautiful abraded polychrome patina. Slight lacks.
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, being of the earth. They are one of a type of statues intended to be used as a medium tool by the Komien seers, the latter being selected by the asye usu spirits in order to communicate revelations from beyond. The second type of statues ...

Rare lukasa type statuette supposed to embody an ancestor communicating with the "mvidye" tutelary spirits, intermediary between the spiritual world and individuals, who can also embody nature spirits among the Luba of Kasaï. The patterns on the bust are linked to a proverb or a mnemonic code associated with the myths, origins and precepts of Luba royalty. This object allowed the followers of Mbudye to transmit during codified rituals, through stories and songs, the genealogy of the founding heroes, the history of the migrations of the clan, etc... Abraded satin patina.
Among the Luba, the king, mulopwe, held the highest position in a complex system of command. He partially delegated his powers to local lineage chiefs or to secondary chiefs, whom he appointed himself. Like the king, ...

Declined in tubular volumes, this African Dogon sculpture represents a mythical being, or an ancestor devoid of facial features. The head evokes, among the Dogons, the egg of the world created by the word of the god Amma. A disc forms the shoulders, extended by slender arms, one of which points to the sky. The Dogon decorative motifs, in broken lines and rings, associated with scarifications and traditional myths, are engraved on the whole. Medium brown patina. Minor erosions and 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 ...

Dogon sculpture with a rectangular, geometric and refined aspect. The weapon the horseman wielded is missing. Beautiful velvety light brown patina of use, desication cracks and abrasions.
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 on horseback, the priests wore it, while neighing in reference ...

African tribal art royal Bambara.
This slender sculpture features a seated Bambara queen, supporting a sagging chest. The prognathic, equine jawbone forms the particularity of this African statue. Grainy gray patina, light runs.
These female statues, or Bambara queens, Guandoudou, Gwandusu associated with fertility and fecundity, were surrounded by statues representing their servants, presenting offering cups or supporting their chest. The blacksmiths of the Dyo, Djo or Do society used them every seven years during the fertility ritual. Infertile women then had to sacrifice a bird, wash the figures with peanut soap, segue, and then anoint them with shea oil. They also adorn them with necklaces to activate their magical power.

The body of this rare statuette is made up of three vertical elements to which are added small arms, the projection of the forehead as a visor, and the phallus. Feathers are clustered on the matte surface enhanced with polychrome pigments.
Despite their small number, the thirty thousand Mambila (or Mambila, Mambere, Nor, Torbi, Lagubi, Tagbo, Tongbo, Bang, Ble, Juli, Bea)(the "men", in Fulani), settled in the northwest of Cameroon, created a large number of masks and statues easily identifiable by their heart-shaped faces. Although the Mambila believe in a creator god named Chang or Nama, they only worship their ancestors. Their leaders were buried in granaries like wheat as they were believed to symbolize prosperity. Masks and statues were not to be seen by women.

African fetish Nkisi, nkishi (pl. mankishi) of the Songye whose face reproduces the mask of the kifwebe. Meticulously made, the sculpture meets the criteria associated with this type of object, the accessories being supposed to reinforce its effectiveness.
Shiny patina, grainy agglomerates, ocher residues.
These fetishes of protection against various evils would play the role of mediator between god and men. The large sculptures 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 which they are ...

These ancient, lustrous sculptures, embodying twins, are depicted naked, perched on circular bases. One of them is wearing anklets. Renewed ritual anointings have left solidified residues of a light hue. Desication cracks, abrasions from use.
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. Support for the soul of the twin, the ibeji influences the life of the family, becoming a source of benefits for his parents, the latter continuing to send him prayers and to devote worship and libations to him.
The occurrence of twinning is, among the Yoruba, relatively frequent. This particularity therefore naturally influenced and ...

Subject of indeterminate sex, corpulent and wearing a crown of cowries, whose posture of the feet towards the back forms the strange specificity. The bust is swaddled in fabric underlined by a belt made up of canvas sausages embellished with shells. The ends of a double raffia cord enclosing the neck extend over the bust and back. Rough gray patien. Grainy residual deposits.
The multitude of fon gods (the vodun) associated with the voodoo cult or vodun, a religious cult whose name comes from a variant of the Yoruba word meaning "god", is represented by fetishes of all shapes and types. Their sanctuaries are found in Togo, Dahomey, and western Nigeria. Statuettes embodying the legba, protectors of the home, are often added to them. The faithful administer daily offerings and ...

The anthropomorphic sculptures with arms raised above the head would, according to Cameron, evoke one who has settled a conflict by his arbitration. These figures are called kasangala. The figure opposite presents a stump of an arm, while a hand like a palette extends the second oversized arm. The stubby, crenellated legs, meanwhile, end in hooves. Lustrous patina, locally abraded. This type of tribal art statuette was kept in the basket of the high ranking members of the Bwami , a secret society admitting men and their wives, and governing social life . This organization was subdivided into initiatory stages, the highest being the Kindi. The statuettes were used during the initiation of the aspirants, cleaned and oiled. Each one has a particular aspect and meaning from which ...

The African art of the Lega , Balega , or even Warega , is distinguished by its initiation statuettes, also made in ivory, some of which was kept in a basket intended for the highest ranking officers of the Bwami from different communities. This type of statuette of tribal art Iginga ( Maginga in the plural), was the property of the high-ranking officers of the Bwami , a secret society admitting men and their wives, and governing social life. This organization was subdivided into initiatory stages, the highest being the Kindi. Following their exodus from Uganda in the 17th century, the Lega settled on the west bank of the Lualaba River in DRC. Also called Warega, these individuals live in autonomous villages surrounded by palisades, usually on top of hills. The role of the ...

The "inverted doubles" in tribal art Baule sculptures
Old sculpture Blobo bia , or bloblo bla , embodying an idealized spiritual spouse, and which depicts a woman adopting the traditional posture, hands enhancing the umbilical region. Matte patina of partially chipped kaolin. Flaw at the base.
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, being of the earth. They are one of a type of statues intended to be used as medium ...

Collection of French African tribal art
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Figured seated, this elegant Bambara sculpture offers a narrow stylized head. The slender body, composed of oblong shapes punctuated by angles, has fine attachments, slender feet and hands. The small stool was also made with precision. Beautiful brown patina with orange reflections. Excellent condition.
These female statues, or Bambara queens, Guandoudou, Gwandusu associated with fertility and fecundity, were surrounded by statues representing their servants, presenting offering cups or supporting their chest. The blacksmiths of the Dyo, Djo or Do society used them every seven years during the fertility ritual. Infertile women then had to sacrifice a bird, wash the figures with peanut soap, segue, and then anoint them with shea ...

This crestless figure, an attribute of Mossi women, is established on long curved legs. The narrowness of the shoulders, extended by the arms spaced from the trunk, contrasts with the hips, which gradually flare out from the arched bust. Traditional linear scarifications stand out on the head. These carvings have become rarer due to their owners' conversions to Islam. The patina usually comes from renewed applications of shea butter. The Mossi chiefs have prestigious statues gathered in the house of ancestral spirits, and those of the soothsayers, representing ancestors, have a sacrificial patina. Beautiful patina of use, desication cracks. Ocher residual pigments.
Upper Volta, Burkina Faso since independence, is made up of the descendants of the invaders, horsemen who came from ...

Perched on thick blocks, the subject offers a glazed gaze whose black pupil is dilated. The nails and blades dotting his bust attest to the agreements made; the magical charge inserted into the adomen is believed to increase its mystical strength. Grey-brown patina, erosions and desication cracks.
Among the Kongo, the nganga was responsible for rituals by activating a spiritual force with a nkondi (pl. nkissi). The term nkisi was then used to designate the notions of "sacred" or "divine". The most influential category of "minkisi kongo" consisted of instruments intended to help regional chiefs to enforce the law, each nail evoking a particular case: litigants, divorce, conflicts between communities... The nkondi thus wanted ensure that the agreement to settle the conflict was well ...

The fascinating design of the mumuye statues is illustrated here in a medium-sized version of beautiful symmetry. The ears distended by labrets envelop a slender face on which are traced summary features. Glossy dark patina. Desication cracks.
The statuary emanating from the northwestern region of the 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, dola, divided into two groups: those of fire (tjokwa) relating to blood and the color red, guardians of the Vabong cult, from among whom are elected the heads,and those of water, (tjozoza), related to humidity and the ...

Housed in the ventral capsule blocked by a window of this kneeling figure, the bilongo (or bolongo), an amalgam of offensive or defensive magic ingredients, reinforces the powerful symbolism associated with the character's vengeful attitude. Indeed, not only does his devious face express an aggressiveness supported by the hollowed-out mouth and the trance gaze, but the detail of the dorsal ribs could indicate, according to W. MACGAFFEY in Treasures of Africa, a respiratory disease lubanzi.
Abrasions of the crusty polychrome patina.

The Vili, the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembé, the Bwende, the Yombé and the Kôngo formed the group Kôngo , led by King ntotela. Their kingdom reached its peak in the 16th century with the ivory, copper and slave trade. Similarly, beliefs ...

These protective mythical figures probably evoke the primordial couple or mythical twins, associated with the Nommos, at the origin of Dogon creation. Sitting on a semicircular base, they present a narrow morphology contrasting with a shell-like chest. The heads show a Bambara influence. Thick granular patina, satin surface. Ochre residue, powdery, on the base. Carved for the most part on commission by a family, Dogon statues can also be the object of worship by the entire community when they commemorate, for example, the founding of the village. However, little is known about their functions. 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, ancestor ...

Ancestor figure represented naked, carried by oversized feet. The traced geometric patterns evoke the body paintings and tribal scarifications of the Mangbetu, analogous to those of the Asua pygmies with whom the tribe maintained relations. These varied according to the circumstances. The fan hairstyle was worn by the Mangbetu: from an early age, children suffered compression of the cranium by means of raffia ties. Later the Mangbetu would "knit" their hair on wicker strands and apply a headband to the forehead in order to extract the hair and produce that particular headdress which accentuates the elongation of the head. The ancients call these figures of ancestors stored out of sight and comparable to those belonging to their secret society nebeli beli. Dark satin patina. ...