African Arts Gallery

Among the many African akishi (sing: mukishi, indicating power) masks of Chokwe African tribal art, the powerful male counterpart of the Mwana Pwo mask is the cihongo . These miniature masks are worn on costumes or initiation headdress.
The characteristic patterns present on the forehead, and sometimes on the cheekbones, are part of the Chokwe aesthetic canons but also served as public markers of ethnic identity. This recurring cruciform frontal motif is also thought to have cosmogonic significance. Always worn by dancers of royal blood, this mask incarnating a spirit symbolizes power and wealth. It was also sometimes used during judgments. Brown satin patina, cracks. The masks of the Chokwe, Luda, Luvale/Lwena, Luchazi and Mbunda clans are called "makishi" (sing. ...

br>In the many African masks akishi (sing: mukishi, indicating power) of African tribal art Chokwe, the powerful male counterpart of the Mwana Pwo mask is the cihongo . These masks are danced by itinerant professionals. The characteristic motifs on the forehead, and sometimes on the cheekbones, are part of the chokwe aesthetic canons but also served as public markers of ethnic identity. This recurrent cruciform frontal pattern would also have a cosmogonic significance. Always worn by dancers of royal blood, this mask embodying a spirit symbolizes power and wealth. He also intervened, at times, on occasion judgments. Dark patina maten, abrasions and cracks of desication.
The masks of the Chokwe, Luda, Luvale/Lwena, Luchazi and Mbunda clans are named in Zambia as 'makishi' (sing. ...

A gourd draped in animal skin and fur, trimmed with cords, serves as an abdomen for the çi-contre statuette, originating from the inner region of Tanzania.This rare sculpture-fetish embodying an ancestor extols fertility by this bulging body, and the hands of the character placed around the umbilical. Oiled red brown patina.
In the southern region of Tanzania's coastline, around Dar-es-Salam, a relatively homogeneous group produced most of the artistic productions. It includes Swahili, Kaguru, Doé, Kwéré, Luguru, Zaramo, Kami. The second region is a territory covering southern Tanzania as far as Mozambique, home to some Makonde and Yao, Ngindo, Mwéra, and Makua. In northeastern Tanzania, the Chaga, Paré, Chamba, Zigua, Maasai, Iraqw, Gogo, and Hehe have an artistic production with ...

This African mask of the Gouro, Kwen, or Kweni, combining animal elements, is the Gyela lu Zauli. It was used during funerals, political gatherings and entertainment ceremonies.
Splits, abrasions.
Among the Mande group in the south, in central Côte d'Ivoire, on the banks of the Bandama River, the Gouro are organized into lineages, and are the western neighbors of the Baoulé who have borrowed several features of their African tribal art creations. Animists, they have used a family of masks associated with the Zaouli dance since the 1950s. These masks are owned by families practicing lineage ancestor worship, who use them ritually and sacrificially to attract divine blessings. Priest and diviner share the predominant ritual functions among the Guro. The secret ...

Fertility wishes in African art Ashanti.
This stylized female figure, called Akua'ba (plural Akua'mma), has features peculiar to Ashanti dolls, generally devoid of legs: flat, circular head surmounting a cylindrical bust framed by horizontal arms. Fine colored bead necklaces contrast with the satin black patina. Erosions.
These stylized wooden effigies were worn by pregnant women, clasped in their loincloths, to ensure the arrival of healthy children. The overwhelming majority of these statues have female attributes.

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 ...

Fine, delicate features for this Lega mask featuring half-closed coffee bean eyelids and a slightly domed, half-open mouth. The whitish kaolin coating is partially flaked. Velvety surface.
Height on base: 36 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 called Warega , these individuals live in self-contained villages surrounded by palisades, usually on hilltops. 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, the men hunt and clear ...

Ex-collection of Belgian African art.

The Shankadis belong to the luba group, and have the same associations and structures. Their mostly realistic statuary is characterized by spectacular hairstyles, a smooth surface, and smaller lower limbs. The "cascade" hairstyle illustrates one of the different braided compositions fashionable in Zaire in the 1800s, highlighting the social status of the wearer. The female effigy symbolizes the Luba royalty and the major role of women within it. Neck rests were also used to support the heads of the deceased, and sometimes, according to Albert Maesen, buried in their place. Locally abraded dark brown oiled patina.
The Luba (Baluba in Tchiluba) are a people of Central Africa. Their cradle is Katanga, more precisely the region of the ...

Large kaolin-coated eye sockets offer globular, ajar eyelids. Tiny ears are attached to it. The lower part of the face crowned with a crenellated headdress ends in a curved tip, characteristic of the Mbagani , from the group Mpasu now extinct, and itself a subgroup of Lulua, or Béna Lulua, and which also includes the Salampasu. They form the Ding a group of 50,000 individuals established in R.D.C. near the Angolan border. They were marked by the influence of their neighbours Lunda and former occupiers Tchokwé . Organized into small independent chiefdoms, they mainly grow maize, with women embroidering textiles woven by men. Masks would be associated with healing rites. Dark patina, mate, scattered flaking. (Black African Tribal Art, J.B.BACQUART)

African figure associated with the mythical ancestor Oso of the Kouyou, a neighboring group of the Punu in the Republic of Congo. The face and body bear numerous scarified designs, and the mouth reveals sharp teeth.
Polychrome matte patina. Erosions and cracks from desiccation. In the past, the Kouyou were divided into two totemic clans: in the west that of the panther, and in the east that of the snake. A secret male association, Ottoté, played an important political role in the appointment of chiefs. The initiation of young men ended with the revelation of the serpent god Ebongo represented in the form of a head. The Kibe-kibe or Kebekebe dances, which accompanied the ceremony, reactivated the successive stages of creation. The panther clan had a drum as its emblem. For ...

Ex-collection African art from Belgium.
Carved from a light wood, this African mask cephalomorph is free of metal inlays and colored patterns widely used among the Kuba and neighboring groups. Grainy residues and white pigments, however, are discernible on the velvety surface, evidencing ritual whitewashing. Misses and abrasions.
The Lele , neighbors of the Tschokwe and the Pende, live in the west of the Kuba kingdom at the confluence of the Kasai and Bashilele rivers and share common cultural characteristics with the Bushoong of Kuba country. Both groups adorn their prestige objects with the same iconography, consisting of faces with elaborate headdresses and geometric decorative patterns. Lele society, led by a " nymi" king, includes three classes, that of the ...

The Pende made use of a very large variation of traditional regional masks. This example is a variant of the giphogo or its reduced model minyangi . The triangular-shaped face, animated by discreet ears, is split by long eyelids underlined by hatching scarifications. Matt black patina. Height on base: 34 cm. The Western Pende live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the Eastern Pende have settled on the banks of the Kasai downstream from Tshikapa. The influences of the neighboring ethnic groups, Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salempasu 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 the chief fumu or ufumu, the diviner ...

The female figure depicted sitting on a throne whose feet are parallel to the legs of the character, forms an incarnation of one of the many orisa of the Yoruba, equivalent to the Christian Saints. The miniature figures that surround him would be minor followers or deities. Crusty patina, mate. Lack on one of the braids of the hairstyle.
The Yoruba society is very organized and has several associations whose roles vary. While the egbe society is strengthening social norms, the aro unites farmers. The gelede has more esoteric and religious aims. The notables come together in a society called susu. The kingdoms of Oyo and Ijebu were born following the disappearance of the civilization Ifé and are still the basis of the political structure of the Yoruba. The Oyos created two cults ...

The tribal art of Africa proves once again that any usual object can become an artistic support. The decorative aspect of an object is never its intrinsic function. In African art, any everyday object can be transformed into a masterpiece while keeping its usefulness. The major role played 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, had a great influence on neighboring groups. This comb is surmounted by a protective effigy embodying a political and spiritual intermediary, a role held by the woman in Luba royalty. Her headdress, behind a wide band revealing a shaven forehead, evokes one of those worn by Luba women at the beginning of the 20th century. The secrets ...

Ex Portuguese African art collection. The effigies are depicted facing each other, the head at the end of a long ringed neck, resting on the shoulder of the one opposite. They are embracing each other in a curious position, the right leg of one raised to the height of the other's thigh. Both figures have a headdress pulled back behind a squared band, a reference to the elaborate quadrifoliate headdresses of dignitaries. Dark oiled patina, satin sheen, slight lack of one of the teeth of the comb. African tribal art proves once again that any common object can become an artistic support. The decorative aspect of an object is never its intrinsic function. In African art, any everyday object can be transformed into a masterpiece while keeping its usefulness. The major role played by women ...

Once subject to the Luba and then the Lunda, the Zela have adopted many of their customs and traditions. Established between the Luvua River and Lake Kisale, they are now organized into four chiefdoms under the supervision of leaders of Luba origin. They venerate a primordial couple frequently represented in statuary, mythical ancestors, and make offerings to the spirits of nature. These shields could be hung in the huts. Matt patina with colored highlights.
( Luba , Roberts, 5 Continents ; "Trésors d'Afrique" ed. du Musée de Tervuren; "100 people of Zaire" M.L.Félix ). In the southeastern region of Katanga, around the 1960s, the Zela , long subject to the Luba whose customs and rites they borrowed, carved animal masks, following the example of the Lubas and Kundas. In ...

Ex-collection African art from Belgium.
The African tribal art of the Tabwa, prestige objects.

Used by the female initiation society, this limbless human figure has feminine attributes and a protruding navel, scarifications comparable to the traditional ones of tribal members. Golden brown patina.
The Tabwa ("to scarify" and "to write") constitute an ethnic group present in the southeast of the DRC. Simple farmers without centralized power, they federated around tribal chiefs after being influenced by the Luba. It is mainly during this period that their artistic current was expressed through statues but also masks. The Tabwa practiced ancestor worship and dedicated some of their statues named mkisi . Animists, their beliefs are anchored around the ngulu, ...

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Tribal Nkisi, nkishi (pl. mankishi )quartet with a magical bishimba charge presumably inserted at the top of the head. A tuft of feathers was also inserted. The sculptures of the Kongo groups frequently symbolized proverbs. Smooth patina with golden mahogany shading. Desiccation cracks.
These protective fetishes for homes are among the most prized in Africa. The Nkisi plays the role of mediator between god and men, in charge of protecting against various evils. The large examples are the collective property of a whole village, and the smaller figures belong to an individual or a family.

African art and diversity of masks Dan
African anthropo-zoomorphic mask whose appearance evokes the elephant, his sculpture consists of a tiered frontal space whose platform is equipped with a metal hook. Deep losangic incisions form an upper frieze. An ridge vertically separates the lower area, a common attribute to the dangled masks in connection with the ethnic keloid. The originality of the mask consists of two semi-discs in relief composing the cheeks on either side of a tubular mouth. This shape ends in a circular, gaping mouth, lined with teeth blanched with kaolin. Elements join the room, such as a leather band nailed around the "trompe", and a grey cotton fabric adornment attached to the contours. The surface of this Dan Bugle mask, or Kagle, is grainy, kaolin residues are ...