African Arts Gallery

The polychrome patterns, originally applied with the finger by the ritualist named ishumi , remain almost imperceptible on the surface of our bira mask.
Indeed, although masks decorated with dotted lines often originated in northern D.R.C., clans in the Utuiri region also made use of similar masks featuring the traditional designs applied to bodies and faces during ritual ceremonies.
Height on base: 44cm.
The Bira or Hunde and the Komo of Congo belong to the same ethnic entity and their last migration dates back to the 18th century. Their region of origin would be the Ubangi, even Chad, and even according to some, the Nile basin (Siffer).they speak an archaic Bantu language. They speak an archaic Bantu language. Settled in Ituri, there are the Bira who have ...

Fertility wishes in African art Ashanti.
This stylized female figure, called Akua'ba (plural Akua'mma), has features peculiar to Ashanti dolls, usually devoid of legs: a flat, circular head surmounting a cylindrical bust with horizontal arms. Thin necklaces of colored beads contrast with the dark patina.
These stylized wooden effigies were worn by pregnant women, tightly wrapped in their loincloths, to ensure the arrival of beautiful children. The overwhelming majority of these statues are female, with breasts.

The Ashanti are one of the ethnic groups of Ghana (formerly the "Gold Coast"), part of the Akan group, inhabiting a region covered by forests. Like other populations living in the central and southern part of Ghana, they speak a language of the Twi ...

In African art, Sao Sokoto inspired works are mostly marked by the equestrian world. Within the ethnic group, small examples of horsemen, generally made of bronze, are cast and worn as talismans, with a patina and a lustrous finish. They are considered above all as a remedy against possession by evil spirits. The horse represents the spirit of the person who is possessed, while the genie that possesses them is symbolized by the rider.
Subjected to successive assaults by their neighbors from Kanem and then by hordes from the East, the Sao had to abandon their lands to settle in the northwest of Cameroon where they mixed with the natives, thus giving birth to an ethnic group called Kotoko. More than an ethnic group, the Sao are a civilization that has now disappeared. They ...

The sobriety of the African masks of the Lega. This African mask is used during the initiation rites of the Bwami society. It is open to both men and women. The center bears residues of kaolin. The passage of a rank indicated the acquisition of a certain wisdom and individual morality. Abraded two-tone patina. Height on base : 38 cm. 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 known as Warega, they live in self-contained villages surrounded by palisades, usually on hilltops. The role of chief, kindi, is held by ...

The tribal art of the Lega, Balega, or even Warega, is distinguished by its initiation statuettes, also made of ivory, some of which were kept in a basket for the highest ranking Bwami of different communities. This type of tribal art statuette Iginga ( Maginga in the plural), was the property of the high ranking members of the Bwami , a secret society admitting men and their wives , and governing social life . This organization was subdivided into initiatory stages, the highest being the Kindi. The statuettes were used in the course of the initiation of the aspirants. Each one is a representation with a particular form and meaning from which a moral or a dogma is always derived. The particularity of the Lega, contrary to other ethnic groups, is to judge the quality of their ritual ...

Statuette-fetish Nkisi , nkishi (pl. mankishi ) featuring a busty, masked figure. Glossy black patina. Slightly missing, desiccation cracks.

These protective fetishes for homes are among the most prized in Africa. The Nkisi plays the role of mediator between gods and men. The larger examples are collectively owned by 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 bank of the Lualaba River. Their society is organized in a patriarchal manner. Their history is inseparable from that of the Luba to whom they are related through common ancestors. The Songyes have created impressive statues with powerful features that are often used during secret ...

A face with large concave orbits, a nose and a mouth reduced, form this African mask surmounted by a growth evoking horns. To the perforations of the contours came to fix the ornament of raffia or papyrus today absent.
This African mask Ibulu lya 'alunga (head of the alunga)was used during the tribal ritual of the male society Alunga, exercising social control over the clan, and responsible for the public dances and ceremonies preceding the hunt. Evocation of a forest spirit, this tribal mask was kept in sacred caves and it was during festivals associated with the hunt and ancestor cults that it was displayed. They also appeared during the Bwami circumcision ceremonies.
Two-tone light patina.
The Bembe ethnic group is a Luba branch that is said to have left ...

African mask whose pastillage, which could be related to the panther, bears the imprint of the pygmy influence.
A ridge divides the forehead and extends over the nose, while the oblique eyes are atypical. The pouting mouth reveals a row of spaced teeth. Matt patina, old polychromy. Erosions.
According to M.L. Félix, the African masks produced by the clans living in the north of the Ituri region mostly adopt stylized features sculpted on a shallow base, and their decoration evokes the animal world, accompanied by color pigments similar to those that adorn the bodies during initiation rites. Similar masks, decorated with dotted lines, were however worn in Ubangi by the Ndunga and Zande of the northeast, where initiates and elders wore this type of body paint on certain ...

The African masks dan zapkei ge are responsible for preventing fires by watching over domestic fires. They are worn accessorized with caps, braids, textile cape and raffia, the most prestigious of them being the go ge , royal mask reserved for exceptional events. This sober example is embellished with a braided hairstyle, whose two braids frame the face. The thin face has protruding lips. Smooth, velvety patina, coated with clay.
For the Dan, or Yacouba, living in the west of the Ivory Coast and in Liberia, the "dü" force that animates the world manifests itself in the sculpted masks. It is in this way that it seeks to bring knowledge to man in order to give him support, and uses the channel of dreams beforehand. The spirits then indicate how to name the mask they wish to ...

Ex-French African art collection.
A subgroup of the Akan people found in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, the Yaoure produced sculptural art influenced by the neighboring Baule and Gouro ethnic groups. This African mask belonging to the I society is topped with a bird figure. Carefully carved tripartite hair highlights the thin face, and a collar of triangular patterns encircles the mask. Fine "ngole" scarification marks the temples. Brown shaded patina.
This example, which could be attributed to the Anoman group, Lomane , (bird) is part of the fourth of the seven I masks that originally danced around the deceased and bent over until it touched him for purifying purposes. It also appears currently during celebrations. The African art masks Yaouré , or Yauré , of which the ...

This Dogon door or shutter, complete with its lock, is carefully carved with low-relief anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures, and scenes evoking the rich Dogon cosmogony. The door is made of vertical panels held together by large metal clasps. Each of the figures at the top of the panel wears a kanaga mask, displayed by the Dogon during mourning ceremonies.
Smaller scenes at the bottom of the panel also illustrate daily life.
The Nommo, the mythical ancestor, is said to have founded the eight Dogon lineages and instilled weaving, blacksmithing, and agriculture in their human descendants.
The figures may symbolize previous generations, mythical ancestors, but the owners of the granary also frequently appear. The motifs on doors in Mali, apart from their ...

Anthropozoomorphic representations in African art.
Embodying the spirit of a great ape, this statue represents an orangutan. Imprisoned in a clay mound, abrus seeds and cowries form a decorative motif. Crusty surface, red ochre highlights. Located between Cameroon and Gabon, in the equatorial forest, the Boulou are part of the Fang group. Like the Fang of southern Cameroon, famous for their large white masks, the Boulou also practiced the Ngil ritual to fight against witchcraft and poisoning. Ngi is the gorilla, a fearsome animal with which the postulant identifies after being accepted into the secret society.

Statuette Nkisi, nkishi (pl. mankishi ) camped high on a rounded base. The power of the fetish, according to Songye beliefs, would be reinforced by the presence of its accessories, such as the summit horn and the various additions of materials and accessories, vegetable fibers, animal skins, dried fruits, etc... Semi-matt brown patina. Cracks.
These protective fetishes for homes are among the most prized in Africa. The Nkisi plays the role of mediator between gods and men. The large examples 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 bank of the Lualaba River. Their society is organized in a patriarchal manner. ...

This African mask of initiation, Mbuya, emanates from the Pende of the West whose Yaka influence is notable in the slightly upturned nose facture. The wide lowered eyelids indicate the Pende tradition of not staring in public.
This African Pendé mask has a headdress made of cloth and raffia fibers.
Total height on base: 42 cm.
The western Pende live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the eastern ones have settled on the banks of the Kasai downstream from Tshikapa. The influences of the neighboring ethnic groups, Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba, and Salampasu have been imprinted on their extensive tribal art sculpture. Within this diversity the Mbuya masks, realistic, produced every ten years, have a festive function, and embody different characters, including ...

Fetish statue Nkisi , nkishi (pl. mankishi ) anthropomorphic desacralized, the umbilicus hollowed out having no magical charge At the top of his skull stood a horn, sealing the orifice into which ritual elements were also introduced. Light brown satin patina.

These protective fetishes for homes are among the most prized in Africa. The Nkisi plays the role of mediator between gods and men. The large examples 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 bank of the Lualaba River. Their society is organized in a patriarchal manner. Their history is inseparable from that of the Luba to whom they are related through ...

Ex-collection of Belgian African art.

This African Lega mask indicated the stage that its holder had reached in the Bwami, an apprenticeship society made up of different grades, and which was joined by wives whose spouses had reached the third level, that of ngandu . Lustrous black-brown patina, residues encrusted with kaolin. Desiccation cracks. Height on base: 37 cm.
. 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 17th century, the Lega settled on the west bank of the Lualaba River in the DRC. Also known as Warega, these individuals live in autonomous villages surrounded by palisades, usually on ...

A reduced reproduction of the kifwebe mask related to the Bwadi ka bifwebe society composes the face of the anthropomorphic fetish here opposite. The latter was carved in a dense wood in geometric volumes. The symbolic and magical ritual accessories are presented here in the form of a necklace of blue beads. Light brown patina.
The fetish Songye, magical sculpture Nkisi, nkishi (pl. mankishi ), plays the role of mediator between gods and men. The larger specimens are collectively owned by 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 in Kasai, Katanga and South Kivu. Their society is organized in a patriarchal manner. Their history is inseparable from that ...

This African mask Lega indicated the stage its holder had reached within the Bwami, a learning society composed of different ranks,and joined by wives whose spouses had reached the third level, that of the ngandu. A flat mask not intended to be worn, it was hung on a stockade among other masks, or attached to the arm.

Two-tone patina, residues encrusted with kaolin. Erosions.
Height on base : 32 cm.
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 known as Warega, they live in self-contained ...