Tribal Art

African art Dogon
Witness to the bronze sculpture of the Dogons, this subject offers a characteristic slender morphology. The character illustrates a protective ancestor, or a mythical being of Dogon cosmogony. Pretty locally ocher light green patina.
The Dogon are a people renowned for their cosmogony, their myths and legends, living in the south-west of the bend of the Niger in the Mopti region of Mali and part of the north of the 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 main groups, about fifteen different languages) involves several hypotheses. For some historians, the Dogon would have fled from an area west of their current location, ...

French African art collection.
Carved in dense wood according to aesthetic criteria allowing to "capture" the spirit to which the medium or the healer is addressing, the female subject offers the sumptuous anatomy of the statues Nkpasopi . The hairstyle is organized in many chignons enhancing the haughty bearing of the head. This type of statues were evaluated according to the effectiveness of the rites staging them. In most cases, these statues served as mediators between the healers and the spirits that took hold of them, and they are still used today. Desication erosions and cracks. Glossy black patina. The lagoon populations of eastern Côte d'Ivoire mainly include the Attié, Akyé, Ebrié and Abouré. Their sculptures offer many similarities. These kingdoms had the first commercial ...

This kwele mask, analyzed with carbon 14 by the "KIKIRPA" (Royal Institute of Artistic Heritage) whose results were confirmed by the Ciram laboratory on the initiative of Mr. Pierre Dartevelle, was acquired by a renowned French collector (the identity will be communicated to the purchaser). With a beautiful symmetry, this two-tone mask presents the traditional criteria of kwele masks, whose heart-shaped, concave orbits extend widely over the face, above a fine ridged mouth.
Height on base: 39 cm.
Tribe of the Kota group, the Kwélé , Bakwélé , live in the forest on the northern border of the Republic of Congo. They live from hunting, agriculture and metallurgy. Practicing the cult called Bwété borrowed from the Ngwyes, which was accompanied by obligatory initiation rites, ...

French African Tribal Art Collection.
Anthropo-zoomorphic figure representing a slender subject, endowed with feminine attributes, established in an unconventional posture and whose narrow face extended by a pointed jaw would recall certain Dogon animal masks associated with monkeys or even crocodiles (dia). Dark, lumpy, irregular patina. Desication cracks.
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. More than eighty types of Dogon masks have been listed, the majority used by circumcised initiates of the Awa society, during funeral ceremonies. The Ko mask of the Dogon is one of three types of monkey masks: Dege represents a baboon ...

Refinement of Cameroonian Grassland sculptures.
This statuette of an ancestor carved in wood, characterizing the African tribal art of the Grassland regions, was covered with a canvas of rabane then encrusted with imported multicolored beads. The subject presents a cup with a lid. Among the Bamiléké as in other ethnic groups, works of art bear witness to the place of their owner in society. Thus, the materials and shapes of objects varied according to social status. 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 and Bamileke . Several centralized chiefdoms, or kingdoms, based on customary associations, secret societies, are organized around the Fon who would have ...

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 ...

French African tribal art collection. The identity of the collector and the certificate from the renowned Brussels gallery where the piece was acquired will be given upon purchase.
This mask was worn horizontally on the head. He honored nature spirits at owu masquerades. Ijo masks represent creatures born of the imagination generally having a connection with aquatic life. Indeed, the Ijo-Kalabari living mainly from fishing and their small villages being located in marshy areas, their cosmogony was naturally centered around this environment. Their masks and other artistic productions are intended to honor the aquatic spirits, oro for whom sacrifices were intended. Fishermen had to be careful not to offend these spirits, otherwise they could bring down their wrath by means of the various ...

Long Ijo mask depicting a fish. The fins are removable. Abraded polychrome patina.
The Ijo of the Niger Delta live mainly from fishing and agriculture, and their small villages being located in marshy areas west of the Nun River, their cosmogony has naturally centered around this environment. References to their warrior past abound on the other hand in reliquaries, rituals and masked celebrations.
Their masks and other artistic productions are intended to honor the aquatic spirits, oru or owuamapu, whom they worship and to whom sacrifices were made. Fishermen had to be careful not to offend these spirits, otherwise they could bring down their wrath by means of the various dangerous animal species of the region, such as hippopotamuses, crocodiles or pythons. The Ijo also ...

Spectacular tribal mask used for protective purposes, it was once used by the initiates of male secret societies during their initiation rites and funerals. It was also supposed to protect circumcised youth from evil influences. This mask dances by imitating all the attitudes of the animals represented. Powerful mask, hybrid snake, gazelle, chameleon and crocodile, intended to communicate with the spirits of the forest, it was worn obliquely on the head. Brick red polychromy, dark blue, black and white. Locally flaked matte patina. Abrasions, cracks.
Mêlés in Nalu and Landuman, the Baga live along the coasts of Guinea-Bissau in areas of swamps flooded six months a year. They believe in a creative god called Nagu , Naku , which they do not represent, and which is accompanied by a ...

Among the Nyangatom or "yellow guns" and the Toposa of the Omo Valley, women wore this type of triangle "hide-sex" apron called akwalac . Depending on the case, this garment-adornment which was adapted to the morphology of each one is made of animal skin and pearls of ostrich egg shells such as the model presented, the akwala na akirim, reserved for married women and paid for with small livestock. Some models feature metal beads, others in glass or plastic, and sometimes simultaneously.
Ref. : " Omo Peoples and Design" G. Verswijver, H.Silvester. Ed. de la Martinière, p. 47.

Sculpted following the death of a notable in order to prolong his authority, placed in the men's meeting room, the figure of the ekpu ancestor was the subject of regular sacrifices in the hope of protecting the community. The Oron are established in the Cross River region, alongside the Ibibio. The recurring elements of the oron sculptures are a beard, a hat or a circular headdress, dignitary attributes. The narrow bust gradually widens towards a swollen, cylindrical abdomen, stocky legs. Desication cracks, erosions.

African mask old bakrogui, Simogui, or Angbaï, attached to the ancestors. The angular reliefs of the face, the metal-rimmed pupils overhanging the circular forehead, an imposing hooked nose, combine here in a remarkable physiognomy of severe appearance. Only members of the Poro were allowed to contemplate the bakrogui mask.
Libatory remains mixed with feathers, at the top.
The Toma of Guinea, called Loma in Liberia, live in the forest, at high altitudes. They are renowned for their landaï mask-boards intended to animate the initiation rites of the poro association which structures their society, and which represent the spirits of the bush. As soon as the landaï mask appeared, the initiates went to the forest to stay there for a month during which they would be taught. At the ...

This adornment was fixed around the horns of the "favorite ox" belonging to each young boy within the groups established on the borders of Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan and Kenya. Cattle, an indicator of status, constitute a crucial asset for these pastoral peoples living on the arid plains of the Omo. Young people grow up alongside their assigned animal, a powerful bond developing between them. The owner will shape the horns of his ox, possibly share his ration of milk or blood, and compose the songs to surround the castration of the bull.
Height on base: 36 cm.
Ref. : "Omo Peoples and Design" (p.15) G. Verswijver, H. Silvester, ed. de la Martiniere, Africa Tervuren.

This piece of exceptional magnitude is reminiscent of throw knives in its shape, but the large ring attached to it forms a rare association. By its volume and weight, it is therefore a prestigious coin of great monetary value for the groups that have forged it and therefore intended for major exchanges. Decorated with thin hatches and small circles regularly engraved on the surface, it also offers a thick handle surrounded by a metal spiral like a rope. Before the arrival of the Europeans, the 'copper bars' (often composed of a spiral-shaped copper and zinc alloy) formed the only currency in Central Africa. These volutes, depending on the region, were named mitako or ngelo .

The final aesthetic aspect of this coin dictated our choice for this particular arrangement on its ...

This Lobi African statuette "Bateba forms a picket top. Cut with efficiency, it represents a rectilinear subject, receptacle of a spirit, whose spherical head offers salient features. Ocher brown patina.
Among the Lobi of Burkina Faso, these spirits transmit to the soothsayers the laws that the followers must follow to receive their protection.
Sculptures in wood or copper named Bateba (of any size, figurative or abstract), adopt different attitudes that symbolize the particular power or talent that the spirit uses to protect its owners. These figurines are placed on the tombs, in a dark corner of the owners' house, along with other sculptures embodying different spirits.
Source: "Sculptures of the Three Voltas" Massa and Lauret .

Among the particularly refined ethnographic objects from Oceania, true royal attributes, this non-functional paddle has a skillfully chiseled openwork handle. The blade is also adorned with a succession of very finely crafted decorative motifs. This prestigious object accompanied ceremonial dances and official outings of dignitaries.

Facial mask shared with a crenellated ridge. A motif of an antelope's head surmounts it, leaning on a long openwork plank of motifs, the latter constituting graphic signs recalling the traditional rules opening the door to divine blessings.
Thick matte black patina, residual encrustations. Minor cracks.
The Mossi masks, personal or lineage, constitute an incarnation of tutelary spirits offering their support. They perform at burials, funerals of clan chiefs, protect crops. True altars without their costume, they can receive libations such as millet beer to honor the ancestors. Their appearance is now frequent during entertainment shows. Upper Volta, Burkina Faso since independence, is made up of the descendants of the Nakomse invaders, horsemen from Ghana, and the ...

Collection African tribal art Belgian.
African figure carved Nkisi, nkishi (pl. mankishi) desacralized, acquired in 1950 and transmitted by succession. The magic charge bishimba and the various addendums, metal, trinkets, etc... supposed to reinforce the power of the fetish are absent.
Glossy dark patina. Desication cracks, erosions.

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, the more modest figures reserved for individual or family use.

The pictograms of the African masks Téké of Gabon insist on oppositions symbolizing the duality in the universe: their surface is embellished with geometric patterns painted with polychrome pigments. Matte beige and pink ocher patina.
In addition to lunar symbolism, these pictograms refer to regional body scarifications. It is a plank mask that the wearer held between the teeth using a braided ribbon. The perforations were used to attach feathers and fibers which perfected the harmony of the costume. Only the Tsaayi, among the Téké subgroups of Gabon, produced wooden masks from the mid-20th century. They were used by members of the secret male kidumu brotherhood (kidumu is the name of the society, the dance, and the mask), at the funerals of village notables or at weddings and ...

Ovoid mask in which a heart-shaped face is inscribed, in which the almond-shaped eyelids adjoin a straight nose. Velvety patina of use, old residues of kaolin. This carving indicated the stage that its holder had reached within the Bwami, an apprenticeship society composed of different grades, and joined by wives whose spouses had reached the third level, that of the ngandu. Nice abraded, matte patina of use.
Within the Lega, the Bwami society open to men and women,organized social and political life. There were up to seven levels of initiation, each associated with emblems. Following their exodus from Uganda during the seventeenth century, the Lega settled on the west bank of the Lualaba River in the DRC. Also called Warega , these individuals live in self-contained ...