African Arts Gallery

The African art of Côte d'Ivoire and its fantastic masks
With six pairs of tubular eyes, in reference to the phrase often quoted in West Africa "four eyes", describing a person endowed with a power of divination, this Kru board mask has a parallelepipedal mouth brushed with red ochre. Striped patterns painted on the surface contrast with the speckled brown patina of the ensemble. The top has co-meddlehorn horns and a raffia beard garnishes the lower base. The Kru are divided into twenty-four subgroups, including the Grebo, based in southern Liberia and southwestern Côte d'Ivoire. Their leader is the bodio, who lives reclusively. Unlike most people in West Africa, they are not subject to Poro society. Their masks with tubular growths are said to be of origin oubi , and could symbolize ...

Sculpted and decorated according to aesthetic criteria allowing u-0022capter" the spirit to which the medium or healer addresses, this motherhood with an ovoid face, the curved morphology of the statues Nkpasopi , has a sumptuous hairstyle organized in buns and long braid. This type of statues were evaluated on the basis of the effectiveness of the rituals depicting them. In most cases, these statues served as a mediator between the healers and the spirits that took hold of them, and they are still used today. The lagoon populations of eastern Côte d'Ivoire include mainly Attié, Akyé, Ebrié and Abouré. Their sculptures offer many similarities. These kingdoms had the first commercial establishments offering gold, ivory, slaves and pepper to the West.Among the group of Akan , the Aattié ...

A kneeling female figure with a hemispheric container mboko , a gourd that was filled with kaolin, an image of purity and the spiritual world. These containers were used by different Luba societies, and groups of prophets, more generally by the mediums of the society of divination Kilumbu, Bilumbu , or by the healers of society Buhabo . The soothsayers Mbudye also used it. It was a matter, individually or collectively, to consult the spirits of the ancestors through specialists.
Red brown orange skate. Erosions, cracks on the cut.
According to P. Nooter, these figures, seated or kneeling as appropriate, also represented the soothsayer's wife, underscoring her importance in the divination process bilumbu . According to some Lubas, however, although a woman, she would represent ...

A rich artistic tradition has manifested itself in the Senoufo through various masks, anthropomorphic sculptures, everyday objects and statuettes embodying the spirits of nature or divination. The latter benefited from sacrificial libations based on palm oil. During the rites of the Poro society, the leaders of the initiates also used bird statues, some of which were large- This bird figure takes sober and tapered shapes, the head and beak have been brushed with white clay. The object rests on a pedestal. Mate patina, dry.
The Senoufo, a name given to them by French settlers, are mostly made up of farmers who have dispersed between Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso. The councils of elders, led by an elected chief, administer the Senoufo villages. Governed by matrilineal ...

Circular mask, convex, it is divided into two vegetable colors, one based on red bark, the second of white, crusty kaolin. The large strips dug on its surface could evoke the traditional scarifications of the clan.
The Tetela and Yela groups are of Mongo origin and are neighbouring. The Sculpture of the Tetela takes various forms, borrowed from the clans they co-operate, among them songye inspirations with polychrome works. Several ethnic groups divided into branches live closely intertwined in central Zaire: the Mbole, the Yela, the Lengola, and the Metoko, and have similar associations. This proximity has generated some stylistic borrowings. Their artistic production has great analogies with that of the Metoko and Lengola. Their divination masks were displayed at the closing ...

The Ti-wara in African art.
It would be an animal - genius called Ciwara who would have taught the Bambara to cultivate the land. They recall the myth through the stylized representation of a hippotrague antelope, whose name ci wara means "fauve of the earth". Decorated on the head and the sides of metal veneers engraved with the repulsed, the ears and snout are also embellished with cotton yarn pompoms attached to pearls. The top of the horns tilted backwards is also covered with leather and hair. This vertical sculpture of Ci Wara is represented here with successive arches depicting the mane, so it is a male antelope. Masks usually danced as a couple. Mate patina, sparse abrasions. Worn at the top of the skull and held in place by a basket-making hat, these crests accompanied the ...

A thick necklace of fabric, raffia and wooden fangs unfolds under this Guéré Wé mask, an ethnic group in western Côte d'Ivoire. Half-closed bulbous eyelids above tubular elements, a protruding forehead flanked by red horns, a camus nose, a large mouth trimmed with metallic teeth, form the exuberant distinctive features of this tribal art piece of the Wé, an ethnic group in western Côte d'Ivoire. Animal hair forms the mustache and hairs mingle with a clay coat on the surface around the organs.
The Wé have produced African masks that are the result of interlocking stylistic forms. The Dan , to the north, and the Wé of the south (group Krou including Guéré, the Wobé of the northeast and the Wé of Liberia called Kran or Khran), have used frequent borrowings due to their proximity. The ...

The Ubangian crucible has produced many statuettes that share certain similarities, such as a heart-shaped face, as in the Ogooué River region of Gabon. Some authors (Celenko 1983) have attributed this type of work to the Zande living north of the Ngbaka.The Ngbaka form a homogeneous people of the north-west of the R.D.C., south of Ubangui. The Ngandi live to the east and the Ngombe to the south. A nasal ridge running up to the mouth here divides the large concave orbits characterizing the ovoid face of this hermaphrodite character. The rounded volumes of the body follow one another with rhythm from the head, with a rounded back bearing forward two small short arms gathered around the chest, a narrow bust widening towards developed lower limbs carried by massive feet.
Satin ...

Tribal statuette consecrated by the priest nganga , this fetish of kongo has a magical charge housed on the abdomen, in a cylindrical resinous gangue, and in the back, hidden in a textile bag. This amalgam or bilongo consisted of various ingredients from the natural environment including red clay, red wood powdertukula, white clay pembe... , but possibly human fragments such as teeth, nails, hair. This fetish of conspiracy was therefore supposed to influence the health, prosperity, enemies of its holder. The hollowed-out orbital cavities were frequently sealed by glass. The mouth is gaping, revealing the teeth. The character is shown kneeling with his hands resting on his thighs. The high headdress is composed of a bouquet of feathers gathered by a string of raffia. Clear patina with a ...

Anthropozoomorphic representations in African art.

Embodying the spirit of a great ape, this particularly expressive statuette embodies an orangutan. Around his neck are forged raffia bonds. One of the hands is placed on its voluminous abdomen, the second resting on a thigh. Brick red pigments accentuate the face. The irregular patina comes in the form of many grainy matte residues. Desication cracks, erosions.
Set between Cameroon and Gabon, in the equatorial forest, the Boulou are part of the Fang ensemble. Like the Fangs of South Cameroon famous for their large white masks, the Boulou also practiced the Ngil ritual to combat witchcraft and poisoning. Ngi is the gorilla, a fearsome animal to which the applicant identifies after his acceptance into the secret society. ...

These primitive African statues protecting against enemies were made according to the instructions of the Nganga ngoombu and the object's sponsor. This powerful object of tribal art was then activated using rituals and incantatory formulas.
Hierarchical and authoritarian, composed of fearsome warriors, Yaka society was ruled by lineage leaders with the right to life and death over their subjects. Hunting and the prestige that ensues are an opportunity today for the Yaka to invoke ancestors and resort to rituals with the help of charms related to the institution "khosi". The initiation society of young people is the n-khanda , which is found in the Eastern Kongo (Chokwe, Luba, etc...),and which uses various charms and masks in order to ensure a vigorous lineage.
Giving a ...

A statue associated with therapeutic cult type Hamba , this Chokwe sculpture embodies a feminine tutelary spirit, which should be invoked in order to benefit from its favors associated with fertility or healing. These figures were arranged around the altar muyombo, a tree at the foot of which sacrifices and offerings were once made. Sculptures such as figures made in sticks or poles ( Mbunji or mbanji), planted in the ground, were also associated. The related ethnic groups had the same type of altar, a witness before which rituals, oaths and important transactions were concluded. (Source: Chokwe, B. Wastiau)
Represented standing half-bent legs, hands placed on her shoulders, she sports a bulging hairstyle like a helmet. The physiognomy is medieval. This type of figure was often ...

The initiation rituals and African art of the Ngbaka
Tribu located on the left bank of the Ubangui, the Ngbaka practice agriculture, and their artistic achievements were inspired by those of the neighbouring tribes Ngbandi and I Ngombe , with a distinctive feature however, the front line dotted with linear keloids. They are organized into tribes without political unity, under the tutelage of the leader wan and venerate a god named Gale through the worship rendered to the spirits of nature. Young people are prepared for adult life through rituals called " gaza" and trained by former initiates, the bugaza. Their statues usually represent the primordial ancestors Setu and its sister Nabo and are installed on altars for propitiatory rites. The Ngbaka also produced musical instruments ...

The different types of statues Luluwa, Lulua, or Bena Lulua, presenting multiple scarifications, glorify local leaders, motherhood, fertility and the female figure. This sculptural art has been subject to the influences of neighbouring ethnic groups (Chokwe, Luba, Kuba, ...) By the position of the hand of the character the gaze is directed towards the abdomen embellished with transdtional motifs in relief, center of the body and " object of all solicitudes" ( The Power of the Sacred , M. Faïk-Nzuji ) Diamonds, erogenous and symbolic protruding scarifications, checkered circles and rectangles embellish strategic parts of his anatomy. This very detailed statuette presents a glossy patina with reliefs thinned by the use, revealing the subtle veining of the wood. Top growths of high braids ...

Ex-Belgian African tribal art collection.
Lualaba province had several similar ethnic groups with similar associations. The Mboles are known for their statues embodying, according to D. Biebuck, hanged, named ofika . The lilwa , an association with dogmatic initiation rites, had a custom of judging and condemning to hanging those guilty of violations of the imposed rules. These offences ranged from murder to adultery to breaking the secrecy surrounding the lilwa . Disgraced, the bodies of convicts had no funeral sat and were buried in the forest. It was during the final ceremonies, presided over by a notable isoya , that these statues were exhibited, presented lying on a litter box. The sculptor endowed his character with a resigned and suffering face thanks to the rectangular, ...

A schematic anthropomorphic fertility doll, whose head appearance varies by region, it represents a spirit with which a relationship is established. The tubular bust, slightly swollen at the abdomen, has a chest. The angular, stylized head evokes the feminine crest hairstyle, the parallel incisions, the scarifications and the braids of the ethnic group. Beautiful light brown patina abraded and sained by contact.
The use of dolls by young African women is not done exclusively within the initiation context. When menstruation occurs, the girl is considered a potential mother. In many ethnic groups, the search for fertility is then done through rituals. Wooden figures will then be carved, some reflecting both genres, in many cases covered with pearls and clothing. During the period of ...

These statuettes depict characters positioned back to back, joined by a common loincloth, and the necks entwined with a raffia cord. They rest with their hands on their bent knees, in a near-crouching position. This sculpture could be interpreted as the aphorism of an elderly kindi related by rituals to his wife initiated kanyamwa . Its meaning, however, invariably depends on the context of the use of the object. The tribal art of lega, Balega, or Warega, is distinguished by its introductory statuettes, also made of ivory, some of which were kept in a basket for the highest rank of bwami from different communities. This type of statuette of tribal art Iginga ( Maginga plural), was the property of the high-ranking officers of the Bwami , a secret society admitting men and their wives, and ...

This mask of the ntomo , an initiation society of uncircumcised young people spread in the Niger River region, is considered a male mask, given its six horns. Most of these masks are coated with charred charcoal powder. This mask appears mainly during the harvest season. It is particularly distinguished by its metallic highlights that highlight the organs and contrast with the black surface.
Establishes in central and southern Mali, in a savannah area, the Bambara ," Bamana " or " unbelievers ", as the Muslims have named them, belong to the great Mande group, along with the Soninke and Malinke. Mainly farmers, but also herders, they make up the largest ethnic group in Mali. Animists, they believe the existence of a god requires the gestation of a child. Ngala maintains the order of ...