Tribal Art

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.

Unusual variant of the mask associated among the Dogon with the antelope. The horns folded back recall the walu, an animal linked to the Dogon cosmogony. The face surrounded by a beard offers powerful features. Abraded greasy patina.
Parallel to Islam, the Dogon religious rites are organized around four main cults: the Lébé, relating to fertility, the Wagem, ancestor worship under the authority of the patriarch, the Binou invoking the world of spirits, and the Awa mask society regarding funerals. The "dama" is a ceremony dedicated to restoring the order of things following bereavement. It was originally to protect themselves from the "nyama" (soul) of the victim that the Dogon carved a mask in the image of an animal. Guarantor of order, the mask of the Walu charges the spectators ...

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 ...

The design of this sculpture here suggests a dynamic, thanks to the lateral inclination of a powerful bust. The arms, extended by large hands, seem to draw the body forward as well. The expressive face, stretched under the cylindrical and flat headdress, offers discreet parallel marks. Clog feet support high legs in flexion.
Irregular crusty patina. Erosions concentrated at the top and on the internal area of ​​one foot. The Goemai, Tarok (who call their healing society Kwompten), and the Ngas of central Nigeria make use of similar, often more schematic statues.
It was during healing rites, or even divination of the origins of illnesses, that this sculpture played a major role for members of male Komtin society. The Montol, on the right bank of the Benué, preserved the ...

High spread legs support this sculpted figure whose stocky bust, on which a tiny chest points, seems to lean forward. The drooping shoulders are rounded towards arms without wrists extending from flat hands. The head is underlined by a crest, ample ears enhance a neutral and discreet physiognomy.
Beautiful glossy patina. Irregular surface, lacks.
In the southern coastal region of Tanzania, around Dar-es-Salaam, a relatively homogeneous group produced most of the artistic productions. It includes the Swahili, Kaguru, Doé, Kwéré, Luguru, Zaramo, Kami. The second region is made up of a territory covering southern Tanzania to Mozambique, where some Makonde and the Yao, the Ngindo, Mwéra, and Makua live. In the North-East of Tanzania, the Chaga, Paré, Chamba, Zigua, Massaï, ...

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 ...

Sculpture depicting an ancestor with an expressive face. The hollowed out abdomen was intended to contain beverages during ritual ceremonies. Surface coated with a thick satin patina, filmy, partially flaking. Internal clear (palm oil?) residues.

According to some authors, two people were drinking there at the same time.( Arts of Nigeria, A. Lebas)
It is in the northern part of the interior of Nigeria that the Koro settled, alongside the Waja, Mama, Hausa, and Dakakari. Best known for their masks adorned with red abrus seeds embodying the ancestors, they also use this type of ritual offering cups at funerals, during sacrifices and masked ceremonies.

Belgian African tribal art collection.
Among the Kongo chiefs at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the crucifix took the place, among the chiefly regalia, of a symbol of the power of authority. A ceremony during the investiture of the chief required that the future leader receive from the hands of a dignitary, during a codified ritual, a nkangi kiditu. This badge of power, inspired by ancient Christian crucifixes imported by the Portuguese in the 16th century, could also have a therapeutic function, and, in addition to various uses, be brandished during funeral ceremonies during which the object was subjected to libations. palm oil or palm wine. Height on base: 28 cm. The cross would not be a motif specific to the Christian world, the Kongo consider that ...

Old fertility doll adopting the classic morphology, but whose narrow head ending in a point remains rarer. From the leather the sheath to the upper part of the neck that a fine braid delimits. Beautiful patina of use, contact abrasions and desication cracks.
The hope of a pregnancy is accompanied in certain groups by initiation rites. Wooden figures are then carved, some reflecting both genders, in many cases clothed in beads and clothes. During the period of confinement, the doll, which becomes a child who asks to be fed, washed and anointed on a daily basis, becomes the girl's only companion. After the initiation, they will be carried on the women's backs, or tied around their necks. The wooden dolls (biiga), carved in their free time by the blacksmiths of Burkina Faso, are ...

Female African statuette, without arms, with a bust sheathed in animal skin into which horns have been slipped. The top of the head is perforated for a ritual charge. These statuettes would relate to the ancestors.

In the southern coastal region of Tanzania, around Dar-es-Salaam, a relatively homogeneous group produced most of the artistic productions. It includes the Swahili, Kaguru, Doé, Kwéré, Luguru, Zaramo, Kami. The second region is made up of a territory covering southern Tanzania to Mozambique, where some Makonde and the Yao, the Ngindo, Mwéra, and Makua live. In the North-East of Tanzania, the Chaga, Paré, Chamba, Zigua, Massaï, Iraqw, Gogo, and Héhé have an artistic production presenting similarities with Malagasy and Batak art, which could be explained by ...

This version of African mask, a crest mask embodying a spirit of the bush, combines animal features such as a beak or a bifid mouth and rounded horns rising from a conical volume. These very refined masks, associated with the mangam ceremonies of the Mama, or Kantana, here a buffalo mask, are used within the ethnic group by members of a male association responsible for maintaining social order and increasing or promoting agricultural production. It is indeed north of Benoué that several ethnic groups produce very stylized masks worn horizontally.

Velvety pink ocher patina.
Desication cracks and signs of use.

This mask whose horns symbolize fertility is therefore danced during festivals in relation to agricultural fertility and sometimes human ...

Originally from Shaba in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Songye are related to the Luba with whom they share common ancestors. This large fetish is devoid of its ventral charge bishimba and has for only ornaments, specificities of Songye statuary, an animal horn introduced at the top, and metal slats and nails on the face, reference probable to the ravages of the pox. The ears, hollowed out, are also symbolically filled with tufts of hair.
The Kuba did not produce fetishes, they obtained them from their Songye neighbors, who were considered experts in the field. Rods or iron hooks were introduced under the arms in order to move them. These protective fetishes with magical charges are called nkisi and play in African culture the role of mediator between gods and men. The ...

Figurative anthropomorphic sculptures from the Yoruba kingdom

This work is exceptional for its size and the complexity of its composition. It presents a female figure leaning on the back of a seat on which sits a dignitary or a king. These statues form an incarnation of the many orisa of the Yoruba, equivalent to Christian Saints. The miniature figures surrounding it would be adepts or minor deities.

Among the Yoruba, public temples, altars or chiefs' huts are adorned with lintels, doors and carved pillars, or life-size statues dedicated to the mythical "orisa" gods and supposed to attract their benefits. Centered on the veneration of its gods, or orisà, the Yoruba religion is based on artistic sculptures with coded messages (aroko). They are designed by the ...

This sculpture of African tribal art, supposed to facilitate communication with the sacred, reminds the deity of his duties towards men. It features the keloid marks of Yoruba nobles. Protruding eyes, plump lips, are also distinctive markers of Yoruba tribal statuary. The head of the child has been replaced by a metal element.
The painting of these statues was frequently renewed before the rites.
Locally chipped crusty patina.

Desication cracks, erosions and loss.

The main Yoruba cults are the Gélédé, Epa, Ogboni cults, and the Esu cult. Centered on the veneration of its gods, or orisà , the Yoruba religion is based on artistic sculptures endowed with coded messages ( aroko ). They are designed by the sculptors at the request of the ...

This sculpture formed the top of a mumuye vertical crest mask. Masks of this nature, associated with agrarian ceremonies to promote harvests, health, and human fertility, were used by neighboring groups, Wurkun/Bikwin, Mumuye, and Jukun, established in the middle Benoué. The wearer of the mask was presumably balancing it on his head. br />
The face is topped with a crest evoking the hairstyles of the group. Elements are enhanced with polychrome pigments, and patterns associated with the scarifications in use are inscribed on the surface.
Satin patina, abrasions and erosions.
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 ...

Female sculpture, from central Tanzania, where the Nyamezi and Sukuma live. Carried by high spread legs, the wide bust offers conical breasts balancing a protruding buttocks. In the center of a round head, the eyes are sunken while oversized ears contrast with discreet features. Glossy black patina. Abrasions, desiccation cracks.
The Nyamwezi, Nyamézi, form the largest group among the tribes living in north central Tanzania. Coming from diverse origins, although sharing the same 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, marked their statuary. The Sukuma and the Nyamézi produced statues represented in a static position, some of which, ...

Female statuette whose tip of the chin rests on the bust. The oval head offers large, flat strokes. The straight back reveals an arched buttocks and a slightly protruding abdomen on which the hands rest. The joined, stocky legs disappear into a circular base. The vigorous size, clearing the main planes, is representative of Lobi sculpture. Matte patina imprinted with probably libation residues.
Desication cracks.
This Bateba figure is supposed to embody a spirit of the bush, the Thil, and thus become an intermediary in the fight against sorcerers and all other evil forces. These spirits are represented by wooden or copper sculptures called Bateba (large or small, figurative or abstract, they adopt different attitudes that symbolize the particular power or talent that the ...

This clan ancestor figure is brought in to contain the mystical charge called Bonga. It was then wrapped in a textile that was to hold the load in its receptacle. The face is streaked with traditional scarifications. The clan leader had this type of sculpture adorning an altar. Brilliant cracked patina. Desication cracks.
Andeblis between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon, the Téké were organized into chiefdoms whose leader was often chosen from among the blacksmiths. The head of the family, mfumu , had the right to life or death over his family, whose importance determined his prestige. The clan leader, ngantsed , kept the great protective fetish tring hated who oversaw all the ceremonies. It was the mighty sorcerer and soothsayer who charged magical elements, for ...

Heavy African mask with a vertical ridge on the forehead. This is a striking feature of statuary from the area between the Guro and the Bétés. The braided hairstyle is neatly represented by parallel streaks. This mask, whose function remains poorly documented, would symbolize masculine strength, and perhaps also a powerful notable named "migone". Glossy dark patina, cracks and abrasions.
The Bété form a tribe established on the left bank of the Sassandra River in the south-west of the Ivory Coast. Close to the Kouya and the Niabwa, the making of their masks, as well as their function, have great similarities.

"Guro" ed. 5Continents.

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 ...

This naturalistic African mask would have been the prerogative of the nganga, priest-seer. Her mediumistic abilities, which the Kongo thought they favored by taking hallucinogenic substances, are revealed by the hollowed-out gaze and the lower eyelids underlined in red like the gaping mouth. This type of mask was called ngobudi in reference to something dreadful, terrorizing. Brilliant polychrome patina.
Height on base: 40 cm.
These mediating masks, also present in initiation processes, were used by witch doctors during healing rituals. At the same time, they were also used to identify individuals who, through their actions, could disturb the harmony of the community. In the 13th century, the Kongo people, led by their king Ne Kongo, settled in a region at the crossroads of ...