Tribal Art

Belgian African art collection.
Effigy of figurative ancestor seated, hands resting on knees. In African tribal art, this type of sculpture associated with individual worship adorned the Dogon family altar. Thick ritual crusty patina.

Carved for the most part on commission by a family, Dogon statues can also be the object of worship by the entire community. However, their functions remain little known. 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.

Support for a traditional cult, this two-headed sculpture that was placed on an altar consists of reclining bust figures. The abdomen that connects them is pierced with a thick metal peg. This accessory could represent the umbilicus associated with the lineage.
Old, velvety patina, desiccation cracks, thin blackish residual film.
Named Gurunsi, Gourundi, by their Mossi neighbors, the groups living to the west and south of the Mossi plateau, Lela, Winiama, Nuna and Nunuma are the main mask carvers. Religiously, the Gurunsi believe in a superior being, Yi, who withdrew from the world after creating it and whose altar occupies the center of the village. Yi has sent, to represent him, the spirit Su, embodied in all the masks and honored by an altar which can be replaced by a ...

Similar to the protective fetishes of Songye and Kasai Luba, this partially desecrated anthropomorphic figure contains magical or therapeutic ingredients inserted into the horns of the head cavities. It is therefore a type object nkisi (pl. mankisi). The dark speckled patina is brightened by the presence of multicolored glass beads, giving a special character to the statuette. Cracks, abrasions.
Live east of the Luba kingdom on the banks of the Mbujimayi River, and having adopted part of the Luba culture, the Kanyok , Kanioc, or Bena Kanioka, have created prestigious objects, water pipes, neck presses, sticks, and stools, and are best known for statuettes represented in different postures, made of dark wood and wearing bun hairstyles. According to the Kanyok religion, the human ...

In addition to its remarkable statuary, the African art of the Mangbetu presents a wide variety of everyday objects, instruments and adornments. This ancient statuette has an interesting patina composed of several layers including an ochre-red revealing under a greyish coat and light beige cracked. Forearms and sex are missing. The statues of mangbetu ancestors are easily identifiable thanks to the typical headdress they have. This headdress represents the ideal canon of beauty within the mangbetu aristocracy. From an early age, children's skulls were compressed with raffia cords that distorted their skulls, and a high, flared headdress further accentuated the importance. Long scars, which varied according to the circumstances, roamed the sculpture, evoking the tribal paintings and ...

African animal figure Nkisi (pl. mankishi ) of "koso" type, receptacle of magic ingredients bishimba. The addition of metal accessories, leather pouches and cords, was supposed to increase the power of the fetish. Mediator between the living and the dead for the Kongo, the dog was renowned for its knowledge of the supernatural world, its flair and its vision. Golden brown satin patina, abrasions.
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 . Their kingdom reached its peak in the 16th century with the trade in ivory, copper and the slave trade. With the same beliefs and traditions, they produced a statuary endowed with a codified gesture in relation to their vision of the world.

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

The African tribal art of Tabwa, prestigious objects.

The Tabwa ("scarifier" and ", write") are an ethnic group in southeastern DRC. Simple farmers without centralized power, they united around tribal leaders after being influenced by the Luba. It was mainly during this period that their artistic current was expressed mainly through statues but also through masks. The Tabwa worshipped ancestors and dedicated some of their statues named mkisi . Animists, their beliefs are anchored around the ngulu, nature spirits present in plants and rocks. The Luba dominated the Tabwa in the Lake Tanganyika region between Zaire and Zambia. "Tabwa" or " being attached" presumably refers to the system of slavery practiced in the past by Islamic merchants.
The Tabwa then regained their ...

Extract from a Belgian African tribal art collection of 16 pieces representing different subjects.

This zoomorphic sculpture comes from northeastern Nigeria near Lake Chad, around Maiduguri, in the state of Borno, which is currently relatively inaccessible because it is controlled by armed Islamist groups. The dominant language is Kanuri.
It is a rare piece, associated with protective spirits, which was buried in the ground in order to preserve crops from animals or thieves. The Damasaka families, a very little known minority ethnic group in the region, had this type of ritual object. We have no information about them. The sculpture forms a detailed figurative representation of a wild pig. Solid growths of spongy appearance remain on the subject. A verdigris patina ...

Magical nkishi (pl. mankishi) sculpture of the Songye whose face resembles the features of kifwebe masks. Depending on the case, she would also be in charge of the bishimba lodged in the horn or in the bead surrounding the bust. For the Songye, the addition of various accessories, metal, trinkets, etc... reinforced the "power" of the fetish. Glossy patina. Erosions and cracks.

These protective fetishes for homes are among the most popular in Africa. The Nkisi plays the role of mediator between gods and men. The large specimens are the collective property of an entire village, while 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 ...

Kongo fetishes are famous in African art.
This is a sculpture of a two-headed dog whose eyes are encrusted with pieces of glass. The body which separates the two heads is, on both sides of leather socks, covered with nails. In the center, the cavity is inhabited by the magic charge. The Kongo use this type of object to try to resolve a difficulty and intimidate or repel the person who caused it.
"These sculptures, anthropomorphic or zoomorphic, have long been classified as vengeful spirits, but their function is much more ambivalent. It is when the nganga completes the sculptor's work by driving the nails into the nkonde that it acquires its magical charge. His action is not secret; on the contrary, his mission is public. Once the evils and their culprit are determined, the ...

Interesting twin figure with a black brown patina lustrous by the anointings. The ornaments of glass beads constitute the "abiku", protective ornaments of this "era" (statue) of twins. Desication crack. In the language of the Yoruba people, ibeji means twin: ibi for born and eji for two< /i>. 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, the remaining twin takes over. It also happened that a man had ibeji carved for his wife in order to induce pregnancy. 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 ...

African art and tribal cult vodun the ewe and fon
sking sculpture depicting a woman standing, arms without hands glued to the bust, is draped up to the bust of a colorful cotton wool. The waist and head are coated with indigo crusty pigments and kaolin residues, and clumped plant fibers. An opening at the top of the head introduced the magic charge. Splashed matte patina.
As african fetishes are part of rituals according to the intentions of their owner. The fetishists, following the divination ritual of fa using palm nuts, make them to order to offer protective and medicinal virtues but also offer versions ready to use more conventional.


The Ewe, often mistaken for the Minas, are Togo's largest ethnic group. They are also found as minorities in Ghana, Benin, ...

Ibeji, substitute images in African art
This effigy reflects African Yoruba sculpture. Anointing residues remain locally crystallized.
Shiny mahogany patina, indigo highlights.
In the language of the Yoruba people, ibeji means twin: ibi for born and eji for two< /i>. 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, the remaining twin takes over.
It also happened that a man had ibeji carved for his wife in order to encourage pregnancy, the object becoming a support for fertility. 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 ...

Protective sculpture of lineage or family, whose glazed abdomen conceals a magical charge. The glazed gaze refers to mediumistic abilities. Figure sometimes illustrating a proverb, the character is represented here perched on zoomorphic figures emblematic of specific clans. Desication cracks, crusty light gray patina.
The Vili, the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembe, the Bwende, the Yombé and the Kôngo constituted the Kôngo group, led by King ntotela. Their kingdom reached its peak in the 16th century with the trade in ivory, copper and the slave trade. With the same beliefs and traditions, they produced a statuary endowed with a codified gesture in relation to their vision of the world. The nganga sorcerers, both healers, were in charge of religious activities and ...

Extract from a Belgian African tribal art collection of 17 pieces representing different animals.

This object comes from northeastern Nigeria near Lake Chad, around Maiduguri, in the state of Borno, which is currently relatively inaccessible because it is controlled by armed Islamist groups. The dominant language is Kanuri.
It is a rare piece, associated with protective spirits, which was buried in the ground in order to preserve crops from animals or thieves. The Damosaka families, a very little known minority ethnic group in the region, had this type of ritual object. We have no information about them. The sculpture forms a detailed figurative representation of a frog offering realistic proportions. A solid, spongy-looking growth remains on the subject's back. A ...

French African Tribal Art Collection.
Exceptional African animal figure Nkisi (pl. mankishi ), of the "koso" type, carrying a glazed cavity concealing the bishimba magic charge. The power of the fetish was further accentuated by the presence of various accessories, such as nails, cords, bones or metal. Among the Kongo, the dog, renowned for its knowledge of the supernatural world, its flair and its vision, played the role of mediator between the living and the dead. 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. Their kingdom reached its peak in the 16th century with the trade in ivory, copper and the slave trade. With the same beliefs and traditions, they produced statuary endowed with codified ...

Rare work, strange object of curiosity offering two heads on a hollowed bust around a miniature subject. This African statue Nkisi, nkishi (pl. mankishi) of the Songye is pierced with numerous nails. Different metals adorn the faces reminiscent of kifwebe masks. Thick black patina, locally grainy.
The Nkisi plays the role of mediator between god and men, responsible, among the Songye, for protecting against various evils. The large specimens 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 whom they are ...