Tribal Art

Stringed instrument whose sound box is extended by a handle with a pattern sculpted in the round. The motif refers to the protective fetish of the Songye, here in the form of an exuberant artistically produced subject. Satin black brown patina.
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 related through common ancestors.
The Songyes created impressive statues with powerful features are often used during secret ceremonies, covered with accessories like feathers, skin and a horn full of magical charge.
Very present in their society, divination made it possible to discover sorcerers and to shed ...

French African art collection.
Three male figures with Nimba's heads support this spectacular, conical baga drum, adorned with a well-preserved polychromy. The skin of the drum, stretched and held by ropes and large studs, has many traces of use. Called timba by the Baga, matimbo by the Pokur and The Nalu, this musical instrument was played by men with chopsticks during ceremonial rituals.
Mêlés aux Nalu and Landuman , the Baga live along the coasts of Guinea-Bissau in areas of swamps flooded six months a year. These Baga groups based on the coast and living from rice farming are made up of seven subgroups, including the Baga Kalum, Bulongic, Baga sitem, Baga Mandori, etc. They believe in a creative god called Nagu, Naku, which they do not represent, and which is accompanied ...

Ex-collection African tribal art American.
The Yaka like to surround themselves, in daily life, with charms decorated with cephalomorphic carved objects, such as this African musical instrument, Yaka slit drum, mukoku ngombu, for divination ceremonies and healing rites. The head, which would represent the diviner mediator wearing a high cap, has coffee bean eyes deeply surrounded. The neck is encircled by a cord made of plant fibers that attach it to the staff. Satin dark brown patina, locally abraded. Cracks of desiccation.
Among the Yaka, at the new moon, the diviner ngaanga ngoombu covers his face with kaolin before emitting an oracle. During its diurnal passage in the subsoil, the moon smears itself with this white clay. The night would convey the virtues of life. ...

Drums are used in Africa not only to transmit messages but also by the witch doctor during ritual ceremonies. This type of slit drum is adorned with a sculpted head and has two sticks housed in the sound box.
Glossy dark brown patina, slight abrasions.
The Punu are a Bantu people of Central Africa established mainly in southern Gabon, also in the Republic of Congo in the Niari region. They live in independent villages divided into clans and families. Social cohesion is ensured by the Moukouji society, whose essential role is to subjugate the evil spirits of the forest. Within this same group named Shira, the Lumbu, Loumbu, Balumbu, settled on the coastal part of Gabon, and in the Republic of Congo, keep the bones of their ancestors in reliquary baskets decorated with ...

These sculptures bankishi (sing. nkishi ) were used within the framework of the bugabo , a society dedicated to hunting, healing and war. A male figure referring to the ancestors springs from a calabash around which is wrapped a cord accessorized with feathers and dried fruit. The object rattles when shaken. Dark patina.
Height with base: 27 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. Mastering sculpture with talent, the Hemba have mainly produced statues of singiti ancestors, embodying chiefs, local warriors, or lineage ancestors whom they venerate in order to appease the spirits mizimus . A wide variety of ...

The Baga live along the Atlantic coast of the Republic of Guinea, in West Africa. They are one of the smallest ethnic groups in Guinea, and have lived relatively isolated from their neighbors due to the vast swamps that surround them. They did, however, leave a vast artistic legacy, which includes crests, figurative sculptures, masks, and objects of daily use such as musical instruments. This drum called timba , and matimbo in neighboring groups, was played during initiation ceremonies for members of the A-Tekan , on the occasion of the funerals of its members or even for the marriage of their daughters. It is by its size that this drum is distinguished from other drums used in the A-Tekan, which requires its user to remain standing to play the instrument. He also ...

Rare drum with Ngombe handle, in the shape of a barrel, established on feet resuming in miniature the stylized anthropomorphic morphology of the pipes in use in the group. It is decorated with coins from the 1930s, arranged in vertical lines, with regularity, on the sides. The object shows obvious signs of use.
The relatively limited artistic production of the Ngombe, Doko, or Likungu has been marked by the influence of neighboring groups, Ngbandi and Ngbaka. Their sculptures, mostly magical fetishes, would be used by the bendo soothsayer to aid hunting. The Ngombe migrated from Lake Victoria in East Africa. After dispersing, some of them settled among the Ngala on the banks of the Zaire River.
Ref. : "100 people of Zaire and their sculpture" M.L. Félix.

A percussion musical instrument of the Mangbetu, this half-moon shaped monoxylean wooden idiophone has been fitted with a long slot that acts as a resonant opening. It has handles at each of the tapered ends and is also embellished with tapestry nails. Mahogany brown patina partially matted. Height on base : 30 cm. The Mangbetu kingdom produced architectural works that impressed European visitors in the 19th century. Their furniture, weapons, ornaments and statuary were imbued with a rare aesthetic quality. The slit drum is not only a musical instrument that animates the dance but also a vector of speech, since it is used to communicate messages: invitations to gatherings, various announcements, etc... In Central ...

Among the royal musical instruments of the Tschokwe, this cup-shaped ceremonial drum is stretched with a skin studded around the edges. The face carved on the wall adopts some of the features of the Chihongo mask. In each chiefdom, an attendant announced each solemn event with the drum. According to legend, the membrane of the instrument once concealed a second skin: that of a sacrificial victim. Dark brown patina, ochre residues, cracks of desiccation.
Peacefully settled in eastern Angola until the 16th century, the Chokwe were then subjected to the Lunda empire from which they inherited a new hierarchical system and the sacredness of power. Nevertheless, the Chokwe never fully adopted these new social and political contributions. Three centuries later, they eventually ...

The rich production of African art among the people of the Cameroonian Grassland is illustrated mainly by traditional wood carvings: commemorative sculptures of kings, queens, princesses and titled servants, as well as the parents of twins.
Within the large Bamileke people in western Cameroon, the Bangwa constitute a small kingdom consisting of nine chiefdoms. The influence of the Bamileke on the Bangwa statuary is notable for relatively comparable facial features and morphology.
Typical of Bamileke country, Bangwa statues often represent fertility but also power and fighting spirit. This male figure is indeed camped on bent knees, arms spread from the bust. This dynamic position announces a ritual dance, a calabash in one hand. The figure is adorned with noble attributes, such ...

Traditional musical instruments in African art.
The hollowed out bust of this anthropomorphic figure is the sound box of a cordophone. The pupils of the figure are pierced, round beads were frequently inserted into them. Dark oily patina, mahogany highlights.
The Nyamwezi , Nyamezi ,("the people of the west" and sometimes "the people of the moon") 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 imprinted their statuary. The Sukuma and the Nyamézi have produced statues represented in a static ...

The object consists of a board supporting a drum whose interior is hollowed out, framed by two pairs of statuettes carved in the round. Decorative geometric motifs adorn the whole. In the Baule belief, there is an invisible universe parallel to ours where every individual is married from birth to a mystical spouse. These characters have their hands in front of their abdomen to underline the importance of the transmission of life. The use of the drum is reserved for the diviner who communicates by this means with the mystical spouse in order to solicit his help or his clemency.

Abrasions, lacks.
About sixty ethnic groups inhabit the Ivory Coast, including the Baule, in the center, Akans from Ghana, people of the savannah, practicing hunting and agriculture ...

The diversity of African musical instruments

Tively prevalent in Central Africa, this musical instrument or sanza consists of a sounding board on which parallel metal blades have been attached. The soundboard formed by the support, with holes on the back, contains seeds that produce a sound when the object is manipulated. The slats, of varying lengths, are sometimes made of bamboo. The thumbs of both hands will lean on the board to vibrate the anterior ends of the tabs. In Zaire, however, where all fingers are used as for the piano, groups of instruments play on complementary registers. The instrument will also accompany, sometimes, a singer. Although sanzas are often decorated with traditional motifs, this copy is devoid of them.
as satiny-use silk, crusty scattered ...

An ovoid head with large concave orbits surmounts this proboscis encrusted with metal strips. A chameleon motif, in relief, emerges on the wall. Among the aerophones, originally carved from antelope horns or the ivory of elephant trunks, this type of side-mouthed trunk was used to produce coded sounds for the purpose of communication within the group, in a context of hunting, rituals around hunting, or to play music supposed to please ancestral spirits during funeral ceremonies. The Ngala, Ngbaka, and neighboring groups produced various musical instruments with human-inspired motifs. Black patina, glossy, erosion and cracks.
Coming from the Banda group, the Togbo originally immigrated from the Lake Chad region to the territories of Ubangi. They rubbed shoulders with the ...

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Ast-href-like percussion music instrument https://www.wikiwand.com/Mangbetu_ (people) - Mangbetu, this half-moon-shaped wooden idiophone (3 kg) monoxyle was fitted with a long slit that acts as a resonance opening. With handles at each end, one side is also encrusted with upholstery studs forming stripes and decorative patterns. Black patina, satin.
The Mangebetu Kingdom produced architectural works that impressed European visitors in the 19th century. Their furniture, weapons, adornments and statuary were imbued with a rare aesthetic quality. The slot drum is not only a musical instrument animating dance but also a vector of speech, since it serves to communicate messages: invitations to gatherings, various announcements, etc. In Central Africa, the ritualist, the ...

Widespread in Central Africa, this musical instrument or sanza consists of a resonance box on which metal blades have been arranged in parallel. The thumbs of both hands will lean on the soundboard to vibrate the front ends of the tongues. In Zaire, however, where all the fingers are used as for the piano, groups of instruments play on complementary registers. Satin golden brown patina, abrasions. Formerly subject to the Luba, then the Lundas, the Zela adopted many of their customs and traditions. Established between the Luvua River and Lake Kisalé, they are now organized in four chiefdoms under the supervision of leaders of Luba origin. They venerate a primordial couple frequently represented in the statuary, mythical ancestors, and dedicate offerings to the spirits of ...

Like the Yaka group, the lineage chief Suku surrounded himself with prestigious objects, while the soothsayer Mwana-Ngombo used a figurative gong, such as this slot drum whose cylindrical sounding board is surmounted by a handful composed of an antelope's head. The object was intended for healing and divinatory rituals, and ingredients were also mixed for medicinal use. Beautiful satiny golden brown patina. Cracks and xylophageal prints.
The ethnic groups Suku and Yaka , very close geographically in the south-west of the Democratic Republic of Congo, have the same social and political structure as well as similar cultural practices. Their sculpted works can only be differentiated by their stylistic variations. Hierarchical and authoritarian, composed of fearsome warriors, Yaka ...

African musical instruments. Among the Zande in the Uele region (northeastern Congo), as in the whole of the African continent, these large drums accompany with their rhythm various ceremonies. The skin is stretched on the sound box thanks to ingeniously crotched leather straps, forming a beautiful decorative effect on the sides of the instrument. The Sende opposite is a smaller version of the Gaza which can exceed 1 m in height. It also has a basket belt.
Zande drums
Ref.: Royal Museum of Central Africa, Musical Instruments J. Gansemans.

This zoomorphic monoxyle wood idiophone was equipped with a long rectangular slit that acts as a resonant opening. Featuring a handle featuring the elegant stylized head of a bovid, it is also streaked with decorative parallel grooves. A flank is eroded. Smooth, satiny, warm-reflected patina.
The Yangere are based in the north of the Central African Republic and in Chad, some groups live in Sudan and the Cameroonian hinterland. The slot drum is not only a musical instrument animating dance but also a vector of speech, since it serves to communicate messages: invitations to gatherings, various announcements, etc. In Central Africa, the ritualist, the only one authorized to use the instrument, also seeks to attract the attention of the spirits through the sound produced by the ...

Ex Belgian African art collection.
Anthropomorphic music stick made in a light wood giving a honey patina.
The top of the stick probably represents the royal couple. Each of the characters has their hands affixed to their stomachs. The top of the headdresses meets at the top to become one. It ends at the back forming a half circle.
The handle is decorated with horizontal and vertical motifs. It is fitted with a perforation at the bottom to allow a cord to pass through it. The Baoulé live in the south-east of Côte d'Ivoire. They are part of the Akan group. One can notice that their craft is not scary. The living conditions of the Baoulé are certainly among the best in the whole country and this can be read on their serene masks and sophisticated statuary.