African Arts Gallery

Circular box made of wickerwork, with a lid that fits together. The dense, elaborate weaving incorporates certain geometric patterns borrowed from scarification, also visible on shoowa raffia textiles. The inner edge of the lid is missing.

The Kuba are renowned for the refinement of prestige objects created for the higher ranks of their society. The Lele live to the west of the Kuba kingdom and share common cultural characteristics with the Bushoong of Kuba country. Both groups decorate their prestige objects with similar motifs.
The extremely organized and hierarchical Kuba society placed at its center a king or nyim inspiring the statuary of the ethnic group.
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Source: Kuba, ed. 5continents, Binkley and Darish.

Within the Yoruba pantheon, Orunmila is the "orisa" deity that one consults in case of problem through divination ifà thanks to the diviner babalawo (iyanifà for a woman). Intended to sit enthroned on the ritual altar, this Yoruba-type sculpture is made up of a box intended for the sacred palm nuts, carried by a horseman figure. The character would embody Esu or Elegba, divine messenger who unites the orisa to men. Satin patina. Cracks and erosions on the base.
Centered on the veneration of its gods, or orisà, the Yoruba religion relies on artistic sculptures with coded messages (aroko). They are designed by the sculptors at the request of the followers, soothsayers and their customers. These spirits are said to intercede with the supreme god Olodumare. The kingdoms of Oyo and ...

The Kongos (also known as Bakongos, which is the plural of N'Kongo in Kikongo, live on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Africa Pointe-Noire, (Republic of Congo) until Luanda (Angola) in the South and as far as the province of Bandundu (Democratic Republic of Congo) Superbly crafted, the Kongo command scepters constituted, among the jewels, weapons, recades and statuary, the regalia essential to their status and power. ornaments, pictographs and effigies carved on the sticks evoked proverbs, illustrated the qualities of a chief, told, from section to section, the history of the tribe and insisted on the qualities required to reign. belonging to the royal entourage also benefited from the same coded iconography.
This prestigious emblem comes in the form of an effigy of a chef in a ...

A faceted face with a protruding chin, offering the traditional striations punctuating the nasal bridge, and a small figure with truncated arms, separated from the crater bust carried by ringed legs. Oiled patina, nuanced, reddish brown.
The many carved objects are, among the Ngandi, related to hunting and magic. Some represent the Ngbirondo spirit and act as guardians of the village.
Funerary statues were also used, and sculptures of couple yangba and his sister, equivalent to the Seto and Nabo ancestors of the Ngbaka.

The Ngbaka form a homogeneous people in the north-west of the DRC, south of Ubangui. The Ngbandi live in the east (on the left bank of the Oubangui) and the Ngombe in the south. The initiation of young people, "gaza" or "ganza" (which gives ...

In the southeastern region of Katanga, around the 1960s, the Zela, long subject to the Lubas whose customs and rites they borrowed, carved animal masks, like the Lubas and the Kundas. In 1970, the kifwebe company was subjected to a transformation which was accompanied by new masks. In the Zela and Kundas groups, however, this type of mask was manifested during secular theatrical ceremonies involving tales. Matte patina with polychrome highlights. Abrasions and cracks.
Formerly subject to the Luba, then to the Lundas, the Zela have adopted a large part of their customs and traditions. Established between the Luvua River and Lake Kisalé, they are today organized into four chiefdoms under the supervision of leaders of Luba origin. They venerate a primordial couple frequently ...

In the south-eastern region of Katanga, around the 1960s, the Zela Zela, long subject to the Lubas, from whom they borrowed their customs and rituals, carved animal masks, like the Lubas and the Kundas. In 1970 indeed, the kifwebe society was subjected to a transformation which was accompanied by new masks. In the Zela and Kundas groups, however, this type of mask was used in profane theatrical ceremonies featuring fairy tales. Matte granular patina. Old restorations of an ear and the contour.
Once subject to the Luba, then the Lundas, the Zela adopted many of their customs and traditions. Established between the Luvua River and Lake Kisalé, they are now organized into four chiefdoms under the supervision of leaders of Luba origin. They venerate a primordial couple frequently ...

This type of symbolic sculpture was used during enthronement rites. Grainy, velvety black patina. Desication cracks.
The Tabwa ("scarify" and "write") constitute an ethnic group present in the South-East of the DRC, around Lake Tanganyika. The tribes of this region, such as the Tumbwe, worship the mipasi ancestors through sculptures held by chiefs or sorcerers. A magical charge (dawa) was frequently placed on top of the statues' heads. Soothsayers-healers used this type of object to reveal witchcraft and protect against malevolent spirits. .
Simple farmers without centralized power, the Tabwa federated around tribal chiefs after coming under the influence of the Luba. It was mainly during this period that their artistic current was expressed mainly through statues but also ...

Statuette featuring a dancer from the Pende Minganji masquerade from Zaire, wearing his full raffia fishnet costume. Léon de Sousberghe identified two types of masks, the minganji associated with male society and the mbuya masks associated with the village, with a few exceptions.
The Western Pende live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the Eastern settled on the banks of the Kasaï downstream from Tshikapa. The influences of neighboring ethnic groups, Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salempasu imprinted on their large tribal art sculpture. Within this diversity, the Mbuya masks, realistic, produced every ten years, take on a festive function, and embody different characters, including the chief, the diviner and his wife, the prostitute, the possessed, etc... The masks of ...

Belgian African art collection.
The African tribal art proves to us once again that any everyday object can become an artistic medium. The decorative aspect of an object is indeed never its intrinsic function. In African art, any everyday object can be transformed into a masterpiece while retaining its usefulness. The major role held by women in the political life of the kingdom is illustrated by the recurrence of the female motif in Luba art. The latter, which stood out for its prestige and quality, therefore greatly influenced the neighboring groups. This comb is surmounted by a protective effigy embodying a political and spiritual intermediary, a role played by women in Luba royalty. Her headdress, behind a wide band revealing a shaved forehead, evokes one of those worn by Luba ...

Sober version of the Igbo mask associated with the spirit of a young girl. The headdress is made up of three braids in a vertical bouquet. The scarifications here are discreet, in the cob, and in hatching on the forehead. Slight lack on the outline, abrasions.
The Igbo live in the forest in southeastern Nigeria. They managed to combine a deep sense of individuality with an equally strong sense of belonging to the group.
The village is the most important social unit, the smallest being the extended family. Each village has a high degree of autonomy and is placed under the authority of the oldest lineage head.
The religion of the Igbo includes on the one hand the god Chuku, supreme creator, considered omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, and on the other hand the spirit ...

African mask of great sculptural quality, the features and volumes being modeled with precision and realism, giving rise to a delicate face of a very young woman. Smooth, reddish-brown patina. Edge erosions.
Height on base: 36 cm.
Of Lunda origin, the Lwena emigrated from Angola to Zaire in the 19th century, repelled by the Chokwe. When some became slave traders, other groups found refuge in Zambia, forming the Luvale, Lovale. Their society is matrilineal, exogamous and polygamous. The Lwena and the Luvale became known for their sculptures embodying the figures of deceased ancestors and chiefs, and their masks linked to the initiation rites of the mukanda, a secret association masculine that all these groups share on this same territory, with some variations however. Their ...

Before the destruction of the palace of the kingdom of Benin in 1897, the divine character of the kings, the Oba, was illustrated by multiple works celebrating their power. War scenes were reproduced on narrative plaques, in bronze, and affixed to the walls. Sumptuous bronze altars, commemorative figures of deceased chiefs, heavy bracelets, anklets and recades were produced in quantity in many foundry workshops using the lost wax casting technique.
The killing of the king of animals associated with legends, the leopard, was the privilege of the chief, the Oba. The feline could then serve as an offering for the cult of the chief's head. Sometimes tamed by various royal guilds, it accompanied the leader on his travels. The Oba, named "child of the leopard of the house", could also ...

Initiation rituals and Ngbaka tribal art.
Despite the absence of streaks on the nasal bridge, this mask has been identified as coming from the Ngbaka. It is the orbits that offer here a succession of grooves, accentuating the arch of the eyebrows. Unusual also, the perforations of the contours of the mouth. Neat sculpture displaying a smooth, satin, mahogany brown patina. Slight losses and small accidents.
Tribe settled on the left bank of the Ubangui, the Ngbaka practice agriculture, and their artistic achievements were inspired by those of the neighboring tribes Ngbandi and Ngombe , with a distinctive feature however, the line of the forehead dotted with linear keloids. They are organized in tribes without political unity, under the tutelage of the chief wan and ...

This type of hybrid African mask called ogbodo enyi which means "spirit of the elephant", refers to the strength and endurance of the majestic pachyderm. Thanks to its exceptional characteristics, the elephant is associated with a symbolism of political and spiritual power.
These masks are recognizable by their atypical shapes in projection. The top of the mask features a sculpted head.
Two-tone patina. Desication cracks.
In the northeast of the Igbo region, these masks were worn only by men during annual festivities, including the New Yam Festival, who wore them on their heads and waved them to rapid solitary dances.

Of a particularly creative design, this sculpted figure breaks down into three blocks: a large and strange head on which develop huge ear flaps, a bust flanked by arcs of circles which would represent truncated arms, stocky legs with muscular globular framing a male sex placed in evidence. Sculpted details punctuate the morphology, realistic gaze with hollowed-out pupils, incisions.
Dark satin patina, warm reflections. Lacks.
Formerly designated under the name "Niam-Niam" because considered as cannibals, the tribes grouped under the name of Zande, Azandé, settled, coming from Chad, on the border of the R.D.C. (Zaire), Sudan and the Central African Republic. According to their beliefs, man is endowed with two souls, one of which is transformed upon his death into an ...

Ex.Jacques Anquetil collection "Africa, the hands of the world" by J .Anquetil, ed. Solar ) by Jacques Anquetil , African art collector, actor originally, then initiated to weaving among the Dogon, author of several books.
Among the tribes living in Sierra Leone, Mende and Kissi, mostly rice farmers, worship stone statues dating from the Sapi kingdom. The latter extended, until the 16th century, from Guinea to Liberia. The Temné organized themselves into chiefdoms headed by a supreme chief. The ragbenle or mneke society, responsible for fertility, intervened when the chief died. The bundu ...

Within the Léga, 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 called Warega, these individuals live in self-contained villages surrounded by palisades, usually on top of hills. The role of chief, kindi, is held by the oldest man in the clan, who must be the highest ranking. As in other forest tribes, men hunt and clear while women cultivate cassava. Social recognition and authority also had to be earned individually: the chief owed his selection to his heart (mutima), good character, intelligence, and irreproachable behavior. During ritual ceremonies, ...

British African Art Collection.
Sacrality of sculpted seats, prestigious regalia, in primitive African art. A squatting female figure with legs wide apart (Zula style), supporting the top with a circular seat, forms the "receptacle of a deceased sovereign chief" (Luba, Roberts). The prominent scarifications converging towards the umbilicus, "center of the world" associated with the lineage, testify to notions of fertility. This stool named lupona, or kioni, kipona, kiona, depending on the sources, constitutes the meeting point of the sovereign, his people, and the protective spirits and ancestors, where past and present mingle symbolically and spiritually. It once formed the seat on which the king was enthroned. The seats were arranged on leopard skins during the investiture of the ...