Tribal Art

This chair, or throne, on three legs, with a female figure forming the backrest, materializes a concept of fecundity and lineage. The hollowed out eyes were usually encrusted with white pearls. The size of the ears contrasts with a classical physiognomy. Shaded, veined patina. Abrasions.
The Nyamwezi , Nyamezi , form the largest group among the tribes living in north central Tanzania. Coming from diverse origins, although sharing similar 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, has left its mark on their statuary. The Sukuma and Nyamezi produced statues represented in a static position, some of which, with their filiform limbs, ...

In the south-west of the Congo, and in Angola and Zambia, each chief had a seat whose foot consisted of a female caryatid, an image of fecundity, fertility, and filiation. matrilineal. However, it is a kifwebe mask which replaces the caryatid here. This type of seat could also serve as a pedestal for Songye mankishi (sing. nkishi) fetishes. The seat here is concave. These seats were sometimes charged with a bishimba at the level of the head, the umbilicus or in the base.
Golden beige satin patina. Cracks and slight losses.
The Songye came from the Shaba region in the DRC and settled between the Lualaba River and the Sankuru River in the middle of savannah and forests. They are governed by the yakitenge and by local chiefs. The Bwadi secret society, however, counterbalances ...

Prestigious seat of Chokwe or related groups of Lunda origin carved in monoxyl wood. This African seat illustrates wealth and power through the central figure of the Chihongo dancer, wearing the royal winged headdress. Minor figures form the uprights. Abraded matte patina, desiccation cracks.
Peacefully settled in eastern Angola until the 16th century, the Chokwé were then subjected to the Lunda empire from which they inherited a new hierarchical system and the sacredness of power. Nevertheless, the Chokwé never fully adopted these new social and political contributions. Three centuries later, they ended up seizing the capital of the Lunda weakened by internal conflicts, thus contributing to the dismantling of the kingdom. The Chokwé did not have centralized power but large ...

Mangbetu, the African tribal art of prestige, was intended for the elite of society, such as this chair surmounted by a head with mangbetu characteristics. The circular seat is slightly concave, while the slightly curved back has remnants of motifs evoking the traditional tattoos of the tribe. Similar to those of the Asua pygmies with whom the tribe had relations, they varied according to the circumstances. The Mangbetu kingdom has been expressed through architectural works that impressed European visitors in the 19th century, a patina of use, luster, golden brown, cracks and abrasions.br>abli in the forest in the north-east of Zaire. Their furniture, weapons, adornments and statuary were imbued with a rare aesthetic quality. The Mangbetu story was based on the refinement of his court but ...

French tribal art collection.
Supported by a female figure representing Tiyambo, this large circular tray, in the African tradition of caryatid sculptures, can indeed serve as a seat or even a small pedestal table. It is embellished with a polychrome and matte patina. Desication cracks.
Mixed with the Nalu and the Landuman, the Baga live along the coasts of Guinea-Bissau in areas of swamps that are flooded six months a year. These Baga groups settled on the coast and living from rice growing are made up of seven sub-groups, including the Baga Kalum, Bulongic, Baga sitem, Baga Mandori, etc... They believe in a creator god called Nagu, Naku, that they do not represent. After the abandonment of the rites following Islamization, colonization, or conversions to Christianity, the Baga ...

Monoxyl piece in carved wood covered with a fabric of rabane sewn with pearls and cowries, symbolizing wealth. The juxtaposed colors enhance the volumes and figurative motifs associated with chieftaincy and its myths.

Located in the border region of Nigeria, the North West Province of Cameroon, 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 which has broad powers. Among the Bamilekes of Sudano-Bantu origin, as in other ethnic groups, art objects testified to their owner's place in society. The seats, the ornamentation of which varied according to social status, were carved for current ...

Monoxyl piece in carved wood covered with a fabric of rabane sewn with pearls and cowries, symbolizing wealth. The juxtaposed colors enhance the volumes and patterns, associated with chieftaincy.
A basic structure is carved in wood and then covered, above a canvas of rabane, with a lattice of imported pearls and cowry shells whose colors correspond to the different chiefdoms.

Located in the border region of Nigeria, the North West Province of Cameroon, 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 which has broad powers. Among the Bamilekes of Sudano-Bantu origin, as in other ...

In African art, the Bamiléké demonstrate their know-how through the use of multicolored beads.
This monoxyl seat, named rü mfo among the Bamum, Kuo koko for the Bamileke, presents human figurative motifs, associated with the chiefdom. A basic structure is carved in wood to then be covered, above a canvas of rabane, with a lattice of imported pearls and cowries, an old currency associated with wealth.
Lower zone unglued. < br />
Located in the border region of Nigeria, the North West Province of Cameroon, 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 which has broad ...

Preserved in the hut of the karunga society, or Alunga, this circular seat with a handle is carved with large orbits evoking the spirit of the Kalunga forest. They also appear on circumcision masks. The society not only exercised social control within the Bembe clan, but also organized public dances and pre-hunting ceremonies. Many abrasions of use. Desication cracks, erosions.
The Bembe is a Luba branch line that is believed to have left Congo in the 18th century. Their society and artistic tendency are influenced by their neighbours in the Lake Tanganyika region, the Lega, the Buyu, etc. Indeed, like the Lega, the Bembe had an association bwami responsible for initiation and structuring for society but while the bwami was exclusive to the Lega, other associations coexisted among ...

Traditional African furniture.
A figure of a ram supports the top of this sculpted monoxyl table, polished with use, offering a light brown golden patina.
Exceptional piece, acquired in situ.
Desiccation cracks.
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 southwest of the Niger loop in the Mopti region of Mali (Bandiagara, Koro, Banka), near Douentza and part of northern Burkina (northwest of Ouahigouya ). The villages are often perched at the top of the scree on the side of the hills, according to a unique architecture. The history of the migrations and settlements of the Dogon (ten main groups, fifteen different languages), bears on ...

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.

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 ...

These models of prestigious seats, robust, very elaborate, and decorated with refinement, were intended for chefs. This type of high chairs collected in Guinea were indeed reserved for sofas, warrior dignitaries who fought alongside Samory Touré. The Malinke have spread from Senegal to Guinea Bissau, northern Sierra Leone, Liberia and northwestern Côte d'Ivoire. Under their influence, the Toma or Loma of Guinea carved similar seats. It is rare to be able to present them in pairs. Decorative motifs, chiseled in sheets of copper and tin, adorn the elements of the seats. Everything is in excellent condition, except for one of the carved figurines referring to the ancestors, missing on the front of one of them. Few desication cracks. Ref. : "Seats of Black Africa" ed.5Continents (p.82 and ...

Reduced version for this old Dogon stool supported by four geometric figures embodying the mythical ancestor Nommo. The contours of the flat, oval seat are engraved with symbolic linear motifs. Large metal staples were used to consolidate the structure. Velvety matte patina, abrasions. Cracks.
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 ). The villages are often perched on top of the scree on the side of the hills, according to a unique architecture. The history of Dogon migrations and settlements (about ten ...

Prestigious seat carried by five caryatid miniatures constituting the uprights. A sculpted figure whose head protrudes hugs the back that she grips with her hands. Aluminum appliqués, underlined with nails, form symbolic animal motifs.

Abrasions, slight losses.
The Nkanu, from the Kongo group like the Zombo, live from agriculture along the Lufimi River. Their villages are grouped in groups of four or five under the authority of a local chief directing the heads of families. Their artistic production is mainly linked to the "kimeki" initiation rites and the nkanda circumcision: statues of drummers, masks, hut panels, statuettes dedicated to therapeutic rites. The sculpted objects bear motifs intended for the instruction of young initiates. Lit. : "100 People of ...

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 ...

The caryatid "receptacle of a deceased sovereign chief" (Luba, Roberts) supporting the top of this stool named lupona, or kioni or kipona, kiona, has been treated in an unusual schematic way. The ovoid head, blind, offers summary features. This seat once formed the seat on which King mulopwe was enthroned. The seats were arranged on leopard skins during the investiture of the new leader. Only after sitting there did his speech take on a royal and divine character. Apart from these exceptional circumstances, the seats were not used and remained stored in undisclosed locations. Speckled dark brown patina, orange luster on the top. Indigenous restoration under the base (metal clip) Cracks and erosions. The cradle of the Luba (Baluba in Chiluba) is Katanga, more precisely the region ...

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 ...

The backrest and legs of this dignitary's chair take up the signs associated with the body scarification of the ethnic group. The face of the figure with the ringed neck on top of the seat also features salient motifs. According to Rik Ceyssens in "Congo Masks" (p.156 . ed. M.L.Félix) and as attested by the sketches of H.M. Lemme who accompanied Frobenius on his travels to the Congo, this model of scarification in loops was then widespread in different Luluwa subgroups in 1905. The Bakwa also had this type of tribal scarring. Comfortable seating. Glossy patina, shaded brown, orange reflections. Erosions, slight superficial cracks.
The different types of Luluwa, Lulua, or Bena Lulua statues, presenting multiple scarifications, glorify the local chiefs, maternity, ...

Carved in a dense wood, this seat figures a human head, offering sketchy features, and carrying a cup that forms the circular seat. Patina of use, significant erosion and cracks from desiccation. Living in the east of the Luba kingdom on the banks of the Mbujimayi, and having adopted part of the Luba culture, the Kanyok, Kanioc, or Bena Kanioka, created prestigious objects, such as water pipes, neck rests, sticks, and stools, and are especially famous for statuettes represented in different postures, made of dark wood and wearing bun hairstyles.  According to the Kanyok religion, the human being is composed of three parts: body, soul and spirit.  They believe in a supreme being called Tang a Ngoy.  The initiation of young people traditionally included, in addition to circumcision, the ...

Original design, reserved for a couple according to some, this neck rest stands out thanks to its curved double support. The glossy supports, supported by three colonial feet emerging from a rectangular base, are engraved with geometric patterns arranged in regular triangles. This piece of furniture, widely distributed throughout the African continent, could have different uses: "dream support" preserving elaborate hairstyles, but also transportable seating, sometimes deliberately unstable in order to be able to cradle children, the base sometimes forming tablet, this utilitarian object, among some tribes of South Africa, became an object of seduction offered to the future wife.
Smooth, dark patina. Localized erosions.
The Kuba of the Democratic Republic of Congo, established ...

Sacredness of the carved seats, regalia of prestige, in the primitive African art. A severely stylized caryatid supports the circular tray. The female figure is the "receptacle of a deceased sovereign chief"( Luba, Roberts). This tabouret named lupona ,or kioni ,kipona , kiona , depending on the source, constitutes the meeting point of the ruler, his people, and the protective spirits and ancestors, where past and present are symbolically and spiritually intermingled. It was once the seat on which the king was enthroned. The seats were placed on leopard skins during the investiture of the new chief. It was only after sitting on it that his speech took on a royal and divine character. Apart from these exceptional circumstances, the seats were not used and remained stored in secret ...