Tribal Art

The Tikar inhabit the western part of central Cameroon which is located within the dense secondary forest of medium altitude, along the Mbam. Within this ecotone, the "tikar plain" (which takes its name from its current occupants) constitutes a depression which leans respectively to the west and to the north to the Mbam massif and to the first foothills of the Adamaoua plateau . From an ethnic point of view, the current boundaries of the Tikar country coincide with those of the Bamun to the west (Foumban), the Mambila to the northwest, the Foulbé to the south, the Babouté to the southeast (Yoko) and small groups individuals (Djenti, etc.) scattered across its borders. The structure of the kingdom is made up of a large chiefdom subdivided into districts: the residences of queens, children ...

French African art collection.
This rare male figure offers a solid constitution resting on ample digitized feet. Her necklace, imprisoned around a resinous mass, forms an amulet with a protective aim. Patterns depicting cowries are traced. Grayish ritual patina, locally crusty. Cracks, abrasions from use.
Gifts of women, food, festive ceremonies, and honorable status once rewarded dan carvers who were granted this talent during a dream. The latter was the means of communication of Du, invisible spiritual power, with men. Statuary, rare, had a prestigious role with its owner. These are mainly effigies of wives, lü mä, wooden human beings.

Stick surmounted by a Fang Mabea type miniature, embodying the ancestor of the clan, guardian of the reliquary boxes of the Byeri cult. Minor erosions.
Height on base: 645 cm.
The Fang ethnic group, established in a region extending from Yaoundé in Cameroon to Ogooué in Gabon, has strongly influenced the Mabea of southern Cameroon who have absorbed a large part of their rites such as so and the ngil. The reliquary statues, sculpted by the Mabea, are however generally larger than those of the Fang and adorned with various finery. The hairstyle is also very distinct, divided into shells, unlike the Fang crest. Among the Fang of Cameroon and Gabon, each family has a “Byeri”, or reliquary box, in which the bones of the ancestors are kept. The reliquary boxes were topped with a ...

In African art, a panel of objects, the regalia, made up of headdresses, seats, weapons, crowns, scepters, cups and drinking horns, belong to the chiefs. They magnify and reinforce their authority. An emblem of power and prestige, this fly swatter is sculpted with a figure of a singiti ancestor.
Satin brown patina.
The Hemba, established in the south-east of Zaire, on the right bank of the Lualaba, have long been subject to the neighboring Luba empire which had a certain influence on their culture. The cult of ancestors, whose effigies have long been attributed to the Luba, is central in Hemba society. The singiti statues were preserved by the fumu mwalo and honored during ceremonies during which sacrifices were offered to them. Alongside the authority of hereditary ...

Old stool seat evoking the mythical arch of the Dogon creation. A metal staple consolidates the structure. The decoration of the blanks presents subjects associated with the Nommos ancestors. Velvety matte patina, abrasions and desication cracks.
According to the Dogon cosmogony, the first primordial ancestors of Dogon, called Nommo, were the bisexual water gods. They were created in heaven by the creator god Amma and descended from heaven to earth in an ark.
The Nommo is said to have founded the eight lineages of Dogon and instilled weaving, the art of blacksmithing, and the agriculture to their human descendants.
Ref. : "Dogon" H. Leloup, ed. Quai Branly Museum.

Collection of Belgian African art.

This African mask Ngbaka offers a curved structure curved at eye level. The discreet features are highlighted with linear scarifications. Thick abraded patina, erosions.
A tribe settled on the left bank of the Ubangui, the Ngbaka practice agriculture, and their artistic achievements were inspired by those of the neighboring Ngbandi and Ngombe tribes , with a distinctive feature however, the forehead line dotted with linear keloids. They are organized into tribes without political unity, under the supervision of the chief wan and worship a god named Gale through the cult rendered to the spirits of nature. Their statues generally represent the primordial ancestors Setu and his sister Nabo and are installed on altars for propitiatory ...

Collection of African Tribal Art Claude Auge Dogon statuette anchored in a circular block. The arms are missing, isolating narrow shoulders. A hand remains on the thin bust marked with irregular reliefs. A crest underlines the head with erased features, a labret pointing discreetly at the level of the chin. A notch draws a female sex. In African art, this type of sculpture associated with an individual cult adorned the Dogon family altar. Grainy black patina. Abrasions.

Carved for the most part on order placed by a family, the Dogon statues can also be the object of worship on the part of the whole community. However, their functions remain little known. Alongside Islam, Dogon religious rites are organized around four main cults: the Lébé, relating to fertility, under the ...

This sculpture depicts a concave face, capped with large extended side panels of two pendeloques. It is plated with copper and brass leaves that a discreet nailing makes adhere to the wooden soul. The set is animated by geometric patterns. The eyes surrounded by a resinous amalgam are made up of bone or horn washers. 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. The sculptures, playing the role of "medium" between the living and the dead, who watched over the descendants, were associated with the rites of the bwete , comparable to those of the Fang . They are sometimes bifaces, mbulu-viti, symbolizing both the masculine and ...

French African tribal art collection.
This African mask forms a miniature reproduction of a large mask from the Gelede society, i.e. a human head surmounted by a scene, in this case a seated figure of divinity, surrounded by minor subjects . Intended for individual use, this type of object sat on the family altar. Matte polychrome patina.
The Gelede country in Nigeria pays tribute to mothers, especially the oldest among them, whose powers are said to be comparable to those of the Yoruba gods, or orisa, and the ancestors, osi< /i> and which can be used for the benefit but also for the misfortune of society. In the latter case these women are named aje. Masked ceremonies, through performances using masks, costumes and dances, are meant to urge mothers to use their extraordinary ...

This carved figure Nkisi, nkishi (pl. mankishi )is embellished with feathers at the place where the top horn used to be. Her angular face is powerfully expressive. The magic charge bishimba was introduced into the skull cavity if the abdomen did not have it. The power of the fetish would be further enhanced by the presence of accessories, metal rings in this case. Light wood coated with a locally abraded black patina.
These protection 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 sixteenth century, the Songyes migrated from the Shaba region to settle on the left ...

The spendents live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the have settled on the banks of the Kasai river downstream of Tshikapa. The influences of the neighbouring ethnic groups, Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salempasu, were imprinted on their large tribal art sculpture. Within this diversity the masks Mbuya, realistic, produced every ten years, have a festive function, and embody different characters, including the chef, the soothsayer and his wife, the prostitute, the possessed, etc. The masks of initiation and those of power, the minganji, represent the ancestors and occur successively during the same ceremonies, agricultural festivals, initiation rituals and circumcision mukanda, induction of the chief. Wearing a loose hat consisting of a taut wicker frame of raffia canvas, and ...

Collection of French African art.
Schematic African doll amulet. Beautiful brown patina, alterations from use.
When menstruation appears, in Africa, the young girl is considered a potential mother, aided by ritual sculptures. During the initiatory period of seclusion, the doll, which requires care, becomes the young girl's only companion. Subsequently, it will be carried on the back, or tied around the neck. Wooden dolls (biiga), carved in their free time by blacksmiths in Burkina Faso, are given to girls and boys by their parents. The wealthier Mossi buy plastic dolls. In the case where the girl does not give birth, a larger doll is sculpted to treat her like a real newborn. The doll will not be abandoned after the birth of the child, the mother will continue to take ...

Baoule male statue evoking a "Blolo bian", sculpted to embody the husband of the "beyond", according to the instructions of the diviners. Neat statue, sculpted with many details, coated with a black patina.
Around sixty ethnic groups populate Ivory Coast, including the Baoulé, in the center, Akans from Ghana, a people of the savannah, practicing hunting and agriculture just like the Gouro from whom they borrowed their ritual cults and masks. carved. Two types of statues are produced by the Baoulé, Baulé, in the ritual context: The Waka-Sona statues, "being of wood" in baoulé, evoke an assié oussou, being of the earth. They are part of a type of statue intended to be used as a medium tool by the komien diviners, the latter being selected by the asye usu spirits in order to ...

Small male figure associated with the cult of the ancestors, carved in dense wood then carefully veneered, using fine staples, with copper metal sheets with khaki reflections. Encased in a thick neck, the head offers a flat face whose summary features are distinguished by their exorbitant pupils. The bust of the subject, on which the folded arms are concentrated, is supported by bent legs whose roundness expresses power. The posture would be one of those accompanying ceremonial dances. The metal is engraved with patterns evoking tribal body markings and braids highlighting the crested headdress.
The Mbete, Ambete, 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. ...

This Lobi statuette "Bateba" was placed on the altar after a ritual to become the receptacle of a bush spirit, the Thil, and thus become an active being, an intermediary who fights against sorcerers and all other evil forces. The small spherical head, slightly tilted to the side, surmounts a narrow bust with drooping shoulders and arms that are placed alongside the body. The figure stands upright on wide feet. Golden brown glossy surface showing the wood grain.
When honored, these spirits manifest their benevolence in the form of abundant rains, good health, numerous births; Ignored, they withdraw it and bring devastating epidemics, drought and suffering.
These spirits transmit to the diviners the laws that the followers must follow to receive their protection.
They ...

Collection ofAfrican artBelgian.
The Kuba are renowned for the refinement of prestige objects created for members of the high ranks of their society. The Lélé live to the west of the Kuba kingdom and share common cultural specificities with the Bushoong of the Kuba country. Both groups adorn their prestige objects with similar motifs. The only ethnic group to create a variety of lidded containers in which individual goods were stored, the Kuba decorated them with designs similar to those on embroidered textiles. The walls of this box, equipped with a sculpted handle, are in fact finely chiseled with a network of geometric patterns. Golden brown patina. Very good state.

Rare mask from the Bafut chiefdom, on the Bamenda plateau. This mask with the rounded cheeks of a blower, a plastic tradition of the Grasslands, wears a royal headdress offering stylized zoomorphic motifs. It was worn on the top of the head. Located in the border region of Nigeria, the North-West province of Cameroon, Grassland, is made up of several ethnic groups including the Bagam. Several centralized chiefdoms, or kingdoms, based on customary associations, secret societies, are organized around the Fon who is said to have broad supernatural powers including the ability to transform into an animal. Lineage societies, during ritual ceremonies, use this type of funerary and royal masks, with varied functions depending on the chiefdoms. Satin brown patina, abrasions, small accidents.

Among the most iconic African masks, this sculpture stood out among the eleven types of Dan masks (Fisher and Himmelheber) because of its circularly hollowed out eyes to allow for better vision. These masks named gunye ge "racing masks," with an oval face and slightly concave center, were produced among the northern Dan and intended for participation in racing events. As for the zapkei, they intervene to prevent the spread of domestic fires during the dry seasons. Armed with a stick, they threaten unwary women and confiscate an object as a fine. Some of these masks ,the go ge , provided with a particularly sophisticated braided headdress, were only exceptionally used .
Mask on base : 43 cm
Black patina with a satin touch, granular residual inlays at the top.

The Ijos in the centre produce relatively schematic sculptures associated with water geniuses (owuamapu), such as this head with a stretched face, on which the features protrude under a tubular forehead. Magical virtues were attributed to this type of sculpture. Many tribes are convinced that these objects acquire their powers through the rites and consecrations to which they are subjected and during which libations and dances can be performed. Interesting grainy grey patina, locally cracked. Height on a base: 52 cm.

The Ijaw are a group of Peoples of West Africa, mainly present in southern Nigeria, in the Niger Delta. At the beginning of the 17th century they migrated further west of the continent to form the Krou peoples of Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Guinea and Sierra ...

Shield of elliptical and convex shape, with regular dense and neat braiding, and whose center bears a wooden protuberance.
A nomadic people, the Tutsi were particularly decimated by the Islamic slave trade and by recurrent internal wars. The groups of people called "Bantous interlacustres", established between Lake Victoria and the Limpopo River, include the Ganda, Nyoro, Nkole, Soga, Toro, Hima, and the Tutsi of Rwanda and Burundi. Their cultures have similarities, like their artistic production and their objects of daily use. The Tutsi raise cattle. They also excel in the art of weaving and basketry. Source: "Africa, the art of a continent" Ed. Prestel P.157

Fringed garment, loincloth, bordering a hand-woven belt made of plant fibers and highlighted with glass beads. More than an accessory, this type of adornment above all forms a “rampart” against evil spirits.
Height on base: 36 cm.
The group of animist peoples Kirdi, or "pagans", as the Islamized peoples have called them, are established in the far north of Cameroon, on the border of Nigeria.
They include the Matakam, Kapsiki, Margui, Mofou, Massa, Toupouri, Fali, Namchi, Bata, Do ayo... They live from agriculture, fishing and livestock.
Among the Fali, the cult of ancestors is illustrated by a great importance given to the skulls of the deceased, because thought and knowledge resided there.