Tribal Art

This anthropomorphic sculpture representing a richly adorned young woman is distinguished by the quality of its modeling, its patina evoking a dark skin on which the copper ornaments form a brilliant contrast. Among the characteristics of the Ntumu style from the regions between Gabon, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea is the pouting of the prognathic jaw. The bust is pierced with a cavity in order to introduce magical elements or relics of the deceased. Bright patina, abrasions. Local restoration with brass staples. Cracks of desiccation. Among the Fang of Cameroon and in Gabon, each family has a "Byeri", or reliquary box, in which the bones of ancestors are kept. These boxes were guarded by the oldest man in the village, the "esa". The reliquary boxes were surmounted by a statue or a ...

Statues of ancestors in the African art of Mbede, Mbete, or Ambete.
Ancestor worship among the Mbete is accompanied by sculpted figures frequently playing the role of reliquary. The dorsal cavity no longer has a flap. The flat face is encrusted with cowries forming a half-closed look, a short nose, a wide mouth lined with metal teeth. The hairstyle features braids gathered in shells. The bust, proportionally stretched, is framed by small arms placed at right angles. Foot missing.
Uneven patina, desication cracks.
The Mbete form a tribe of Gabon, on the border of the Middle Congo, close to the Obamba and the Pounou, whose history has been marked by a long-term conflict against the Teke. They do not have a centralized political organization, practice ancestor worship.

Statues of ancestors in the African art of the Mbede, Mbete, or Ambete.

The worship of the ancestors, among the Mbete, is accompanied by these statues of which a dorsal cavity frequently plays the role of a reliquary. The head with narrow half-closed eyelids represented by cowries, a triangular nose, a toothed mouth. The hairstyle features braids gathered in shells and crests. The arms are attached to the bust, bent at a right angle. The muscular legs announce a ritual dance. Interesting kaolin patina and red ocher highlights. On the back, the cavity incorporates a sculpted miniature of similar morphology, surrounded by talismanic objects.
Desication erosions and cracks.


The Mbete form a tribe of Gabon, on the border of Middle Congo, neighboring the ...

Ex-collection African tribal art Belgian
This guardian effigy of a reliquary, evoking the ancestors, adopts a headdress with flat shells ending in two short pendants. The flat face is divided into contrasting tones. The whole is plated with a network of copper and brass sheets that a fine nailing fixes to the wooden frame. This type of sculpture placed on the reliquary baskets played among the Kota the role of "medium" between the living and the dead and watched over their descendants. They are sometimes bifaces, the mbulu-viti, symbolizing the masculine and feminine aspect at the same time. In the exclusive presence of initiates, the major decisions of the clan were taken during ceremonies during which the reliquaries were taken out and used. In order to reactivate the magic ...

This reliquary guardian effigy, evoking the ancestors, adopts the traditional hairstyle: a top headdress with rounded flat shells ending in two short pendants. The convex face presents a rounded forehead, a heart-shaped eyebrow arch, half-closed palpebral slits. The whole is clad in a network of copper strips, cleverly arranged, that a fine nailing fixes to the wooden frame. . Its tall stature further implies that it was endowed with great ritual value.
The Kota Ndasa of the Ogooué valley in Gabon and Congo produced this type of sculpture which played the role of "medium" between the living and the dead and continued to watch over their descendants. They are sometimes two-sided, the < i> mbulu-viti , symbolizing the masculine and feminine aspect at the same time. This type of ...

Eket sculptural art spread via the lagoon to neighboring countries. Its influence can be seen on the face of this statue sculpted by the Fang of Cameroon, which was intended to be placed in a reliquary basket by the rear stalk. Very thick oily patina, locally lumpy. Missing at the level of a foot, cracks of desiccation.
The boxes containing the relics of illustrious ancestors were guarded by the oldest man in the village, the "esa". Surmounted by a statue or a head that acted as a guardian of the "byeri" boxes, they were stored in a dark corner of the hut, supposed to divert evil influences to someone else. They were also used during the initiation ceremonies of young people linked to the "So" society. During the festivals, the statues were separated from their boxes and carried in ...

Stylistic variation of a striking abstraction of Kota art: metal plates are stapled on a wooden core with a face on top. Image inspired by visions, the head is crossed by a ridge forming the nose, punctuated by upholstery nails, whose copper color contrasts with the golden metal.
Baskets containing the relics of illustrious ancestors, usually surmounted by two reliquaries, were kept in temples in the village. One embodied the founder of the lineage, and the second embodied his descendants. The cult of ancestors, the bwete (North Kota) was at the heart of the social and religious life of the Kota and presents many analogies with that of the Fang . In the exclusive presence of initiates, the major decisions of the clan were made during ceremonies in which reliquaries were taken ...

Incarnating a founder of lineage, this work of great sobriety on its front face is characterized by a concave ogive face surmounted by a small tubular excrescence. The eyes are represented by cabochons pierced with a pupil on either side of a hooked nose. Copper threads line the surface, the whole evoking for some the naja snake. On the posterior part is concentrated an abundant ornamentation of imbricated motifs. This sculpture is characteristic of the Mahongwe from the extreme northeast of Gabon, on the border with Congo. Baskets containing the relics of illustrious ancestors, usually surmounted by two reliquaries, were kept in village temples. One embodied the founder of the lineage, and the other his descendants. The cult of ancestors, the Bwete (North Kota), was at the heart ...

Named Bonganga or Efomba according to the authors, these anthropomorphic coffins were intended to receive the remains of dignitaries of the Ngata ethnic group. As in Ancient Egypt, this type of sarcophagus was ordered during their lifetime by high-ranking persons. These sculptures " bonganga-nganga " are characterized by a polychromy and a beautiful alternation of geometrical patterns underlined by a decorative nailing. This ornamentation resumes the traditional scarification, tattoos, paintings and textiles that the deceased appears. The trunk, established on short massive legs, serves as a receptacle that closes a flap on the back. The bent arms are positioned glued to the bust. A head surmounts the whole. Housed in the rear reliquary, instead of the bones of the deceased, a wooden ...

The concave face surmounted by a tubular excrescence offers here two cabochon eyes with a pupil framing a hooked nose. Threads and metal plates, skillfully arranged, alternate on the surface whose magical power was reactivated by the use of sand.
This sculpture is characteristic of the MaHongwe from the extreme northeast of Gabon, on the border with Congo. Baskets containing the relics of illustrious ancestors, usually surmounted by two reliquaries, were kept in village temples. One embodied the founder of the lineage, and the other his descendants. Ancestor worship, the bwete (North Kota) was at the heart of the social and religious life of the Kota and has many analogies with that of the Fang. In the exclusive presence of insiders, the major decisions of the clan were ...

This ritual sculpture, plated with brass-brass leaves according to the kota tradition, forms a stylized image of the ancestor, a coat of arms also for the clan, and is generally distinguished by the shape of the headdress, which varies according to the regions. The headdress here is a tubular growth, the face sculpted on the posterior face recalls the fang sculptures, and the main face, concave, adopts a hooked nose and bone eyes.
The Kota inhabit the eastern part of Gabon, which is rich in iron ore, and some in the Republic of Congo. The blacksmith, in addition to wood carving, made tools for agricultural work as well as ritual weapons. Sculptures playing the role of 'medium' between the living and the dead who watched over the descendants, were associated with the rites of the ...

This ancestor figure, with an angled face, and a base offering a spectacular 'unhinged', certainly stands out from the classic pattern of kota reliquaries. The look of bone lozenges pierced with metal pupils, and the toothed mouth, the alternation of gilded, coppery metal, and the juxtaposition of geometric patterns, also give an expressive and lively character to an unexpected work.
The cult of ancestors, the bwete (North Kota) was at the heart of the social and religious life of the Kota and has many analogies with that of the Fang . In the exclusive presence of insiders, the clan's major decisions were made during ceremonies during which the reliquaries were taken out and used. In order to reactivate the magical charge, the initiates rubbed the relic with sand. Among the Kota, ...

Reliquary sculpture devoid of crescent crest usually accompanying this type of pieces. Two broad ears frame a flat face where the bulging forehead is surmounted by an outgrowth. The piece alternates with gold veneers and highlights of orange copper wire, while the neck is wrapped in a large sheet of black metal. Restorations using long staples were carried out on the damaged foot.
Among the shira-punu group, Les Massango , Mashango , Sango, Sangu, settled on the Chaillu massif in Gabon and in the province of Ngounié. The use of the bone baskets of the deceased, on which sculptures of this type reigned, was widespread throughout Gabon, ches the Fang, the Kota, but also the Mitsogho and Massango , in which this cult takes the name of Bumba. The sculptures playing the role of "medium" ...

Deep whitened orbits and wide rictus give an unusual character to this statue embodying the spirit of a great ape. It also serves as a reliquary thanks to its hollowed-out bust on the back, shuttered by a shutter. Tapestry nails highlight certain features. Dark skate abraded locally. Erosions.
Established in the equatorial forest between Cameroon and Gabon, the Bulu are part of the Fang ensemble that use sculptures as part of the cult of ancestors. As the Fang of South Cameroon famous for their large white masks, the Boulou, Bulu, also practiced the ritual Ngi , Ngil in order to fight witchcraft and poisoning. Ngi is the anthropoid monkey, a fearsome animal to which the applicant identifies after his acceptance into the secret society. (African Art, Mazenod).

Ex-french African art collection.
Anthropic figure guardian of the reliquary containing the bones of the deceased, on which it was recorded by the posterior stalk. This concave-faced statue has a stretched bust in which the umbilical stands out and atrophied limbs. Its long neck is surrounded by a metal torque, with apotropaic virtues. The umbilical lozenge and the geometric representation of sex are associated with parentage. The hollowed-out orbits give a psychic look to the figure. The black brown patina, smooth and oiled, blends locally.
A disturbing reputation for cannibals accompanied the Fang people, carefully studied by ethnologist Louis Perrois. Rituals and ceremonies related to the worship of Theby also included taking a hallucinogenic drug, alan , in order to ...