African Arts Gallery

Western influences in African art baoulé .
This monoxyle sculpture is a life-size effigy commonly known as "colon". It depicts a black man, in the guise of a colonial administrator or a territorial agent. He holds a pipe, removable, and a cup, and sits on a prestigious seat, engraved with decorative motifs and endowed with a natural matte patina. Desication cracks. Since the end of the 18th century, the Baoulé have produced this type of sculpture for tourists. Some 60 ethnic groups populate Côte d'Ivoire, including the Baoulé in the centre, Akans from Ghana, a savannah people, hunting and farming, as well as the Gouro, whose cults and masks they borrowed. The basic unit is lineage, under the responsibility of an elder, whose functions are political and religious. Their name , ...

Ex-French tribal art collection.
African art divinatory.
Designed to a practice still in use today in the baoulé region of the south-west, the object consists of a mediating tutelary figure, visibly in meditation, leaning on a circular receptacle with a floor. The sides of the box are decorated with parallel lines, the receptacle has in its lower part a circular frieze open. A mouse, considered a messenger of the earth's deities, lived in the lower compartment of the object and the successive arrangement of the elements it moved was read as an answer to the soothsayer's question. The part also has a conveyor belt. A metal plate has been fitted under the box. Beautiful brown patina, smooth, with ochre vegetable paste
Ref.: Mathilde Buratti , \

These Kongo statues forming couple have slightly different faces thanks to the rictus of the femine figure. The elements bilongo conferring additional powers on this tribal art object named nkisi were housed in the cup forming reliquary on the woman's abdomen. The metal reputed to hold protective virtues is present in the form of nails dostanding the sculpture. Satin patina, granular residue.
The sorcerers nganga, both healers, were in charge of religious activities and mediation towards the God called Nzambi through these consecrated figures. Aggressive witchcraft kindoki is the absolute evil that must be fought. To this end, nkisis protective figures are made and loaded by the nganga of all the ingredients necessary to achieve this goal. It is not the morphology of the ...

Ex-Swiss African art collection.
The African Chokwe pwo masks, among the many masks akishi (sing: mukishi , indicating the power) of African tribal art Chokwe, are exclusively female representations that were accompanied by accessories and adornments. Joined to their male counterparts, cihongo recognizable by their large plateau-shaped headdress, pwo must bring fertility and prosperity to the community. The cultural logic of these two icons developed during the pre-colonial period continues to inspire artists in north-eastern Angola. The characteristic patterns 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 meaning. ...

The Akan cults in African art
This naturalistic sculpture forms an unusual representation of a "Waka -Sona", "being of wood in baoulé", with hands in the back enclosed by ties. Many checkerboard scarifications run through the captive's anatomy. A certain thinness, illustrated by the realism of raised ribs, constitutes an additional detail of his anatomy. This singular object was probably intended to benefit the reputation of its holder, the soothsayer. Light brown patina on which blackish film residues of ritual libation remain.
Two types of statues Waka- Sona , or "Waka-Sran" are produced by baoulé in the ritual setting: those that evoke a assiè oussou, be of the earth, and which are part of a set of statues intended to be used as a medium tool by the soothsayers komien, the ...

This blade is extended with a wooden pommel surrounded by a leather ribbon and then dyed black. The end of the blade flares. Oxidized metal, very beautiful patina of use.
The Mongo group living in northwestern Congo, is known for its costumes, weapons, and metal jewelry, not for its almost non-existent statuary. The Konda who used this type of short swords form one of the tribes of the group.
In Africa, before the colonial period, payments were never made in coins. Transactions were made using cauris, pearls, cattle, kola nuts, but also metals, including iron in particular. These primitive currencies were used in trade, social exchanges, for dowries in particular, but could also come from parade objects or throw weapons. In Sierra Leone, goods were valued against iron bars ...

The sculptures, Ofo mediators in African art
This sculpture combining wood and metal, named Ofo (named after the tree in which it was made), has a stylized face topped by a large crest in the shape of a shovel. Its body is formed by an adorned with spiral patterns in relief, under a ringed neck. A rare and symbolic piece held by an elder named N'dichie , and associated with the agnatic lineage, on which one sometimes took an oath, this black-iron object was arranged in Igbo houses and altars. This tradition then spread to neighbouring ethnic groups. From a botanical sculpture from a tree "masculin", and composed of brittle twigs, images of boys dependent on their father and then detaching from it, this object is part of a type of achievement ( skeuomorphs) of Nigerian culture, made ...

Ex-French African art collection.
This African baoulé mask, a sculpture named portrait mask or Ndoma, has a crest with a hemispheric central element leaning on a panel flanked by two pendeloques. The placid appearance, with modestly lowered eyelids, is enhanced by scarifications called " ngole". Glossy dark brown surface. These portrait masks of the Baoulé, ndoma , which are part of one of the oldest Baoulé artistic traditions and frequently represent an idealized character, have the peculiarity of manifesting itself at the end of the dance ceremonies of entertainment. The latter are named, depending on the regions, bedwo, ngblo, mblo, adjussu, etc. Each of these masks is distinguished by the hairstyles, the location and the choice of scarifications. They perform during dance ...

Figure of ancestor hermaphrodite , depicted naked, illustrating one of the daily tasks of this people of the cliffs. At the neck, a necklace korte composed of amulets incorporating verses from the Koran testifies to the Muslim influence in the region.
This piece features matte, splendored and furrowed wood. Lack under the cup.
The Dogons are a people renowned for their cosmogony, esotericism, myths and legends. Their population is estimated at about 300,000 souls living southwest of the Niger Loop in the Mopti region of Mali (Bandiagara, Koro, Banka), near Douentza and part of northern Burkina (northwest of Ouahigouya). Villages are often perched atop the scree at the edge of the hills, according to a unique architecture. The history of migration and the facilities of the ...

pure symmetry for this African mask where a conical hairstyle incised with geometric patterns overcomes an imposing rectangular nose. The look, stretched, is made up of rectangular spaces highlighted by grooves. The chin ends in a point under a geometric mouth. The hollow of the ears is encased with red ochre pigments. Velvety light brown patina.
It is near the Kasai River that the Lwalwa live, between Angola and Zaire. Historically having a matrilineal society, the Lwalwa, after being influenced luba and songye, adopted a patrilineal system within their rudimentary political and social organization. The male mask nkaki, carved in wood mulela, is one of four types of masks produced by the privileged caste formed by their sculptors: These craftsmen, according to their merits, ...

This tribal statuette has a head with the features of the Nkaki mask, whose busted nose evokes the beak of the calao. A pointed chin completes the concave face. The pupils are pierced in the center of the eyes simply drawn. This sculpture participated in fertility rites and ceremonies supposed to appease geniuses, mediating spirits between the group and their ancestors. The detail of the digitized hands and feet brings a neat note to this piece characterized by a beautiful balance between the width of the shoulders and the lower limbs, at the back between the relief of the shoulder blades and the pelvis. Beautiful dark patina, sained. Very slight cracks and abrasions.
The Lwalwa live between Angola and Zaire, between the Kasai River and the Lweta. Historically having a matrilineal ...

Western influences in Baoulé African art
A massive, rectangular bust, responds here to the flat volume of the headdress. The arms of the subject, cut in the same block, disappear in the extension of wide hips: the baoulé sculptor has thus set out to lend to this effigy of European official of the early twentieth century, soldier, colonial administrator, wearing boots , and commonly known as "colon", a casual but assured posture, hands slid into the pockets. The treatment of the face, summary, favors a slight emphasis of a subtly asymmetrical appearance, marked by two oblique scarifications. The blackened volumes have the stigma of the herminette. Deep desication cracks. Oiled patina, satin touch. Tiny residues of red ochre highlights on the strokes. Original base that will be ...

This small African initiation mask, Mbuya , depicts a woman soothsayer Nganga Ngombo, the lozenge bleached on the forehead and jaw testifying. This African mask that is not a face mask expresses the feminine and masculine qualities of the soothsayer.
The Western Pende live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the Easterners have settled on the banks of the Kasai river downstream of Tshikapa. The influences of the neighbouring ethnic groups, Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salempasu, were imprinted on their large tribal art sculpture. Within this diversity the mbuyamasks , realistic, produced every ten years, take on a festive function, and embody different characters difficult to differentiate without their costume, including the chef fumu or ufumu, the soothsayer and his wife, the ...

This flat, circular African mask, the least important in the hierarchy of African Goli masks, is lined with losangic motifs, equipped with hollowed-out eyes topped with protruding pupils, and has a rectangular mouth in which a dentition is chiseled, in relation to the traditional image of teeth in young people. It is surmounted by a figure displaying the same mask in miniature, clinging to the top horns. The female mask kplekple, according to some authors (African Barbier-Mueller Masks, p.116) would be red. Vogel (Baule) indicates, however, that in the Baoulé version of the Goli the male mask is painted red, and the feminine is painted black. It is likely that this allocation varies from village to village. Generally preceding the manifestation of a series of masks of the " family Goli ...

A variant of the African mask Newenka of the Bobo Fing, also borrowing features of the mask kelled , it is characterized by a cephalomorphic helmet whose stylized crest ends in two panels. This type of mask was worn exclusively by members of the blacksmith caste, during mourning ceremonies, to accompany the deceased to his ultimate residence, the volta. By the time the mask's eyes were hollowed out, always starting with the left eye, the spiritual incarnation, the guardian spirit of the Do, came to life in the room. The top of the mask, crescent, would represent the flight of a bird. The Do mask linked to the cult of blacksmiths is a structure composed of only plant fibres, without a wood structure. (S. Diakonoff, the Soul of Africa)Satin dark patina. The Mandingo people, most of whom ...

African statue Nkisi , nkishi (pl. mankishi) feminine Songye, it features a massive head offering geometric features. The arms are positioned around a protruding abdomen.  The peculiarity of these fascinating tribal figures most often lies in the angular treatment of the form, the imposing triangular face that here takes up the appearance of the African mask kifwebe, the rictus formed by the mouth, and the attitude deported forward of the bulging belly. In this case the magic charge bishimba is studded by a fragment of red textile.
Brown patina, peeled.
These home protection fetishes are among the most prized in Africa. Nkisi plays the role of mediator between God and humans, charged with protecting against different evils. Large copies are the collective property of an ...

This sign was intended for the affliction cults nzaambi , also practiced by the Yaka , rituals that allowed to deal with a problem whose divinatory practices had been able to establish the source. While the Holos were likely inspired by Christian iconography, they honored spirits and not a single god. Often intended to promote hunting, fertility or good health, these sculptures had to be ritually beended by the interest of different substances. Brown skate. Scattered abrasions.
Located in democratic Congo between the Yaka and the Tchokwé of Angola, the small ethnic Holo migrated from the Angolan coast to settle near the banks of the Kwango. Hunting and agriculture provide for their livelihood. Neighbouring ethnic groups, such as the Suku, influenced their traditional sculptures. The ...

Ex-collection Spanish tribal art.
The royal iconography in the bronzes of African art of the benign kingdomThis animal evoking assurance and pride is a metaphor for the oldest wife of the Oba, the ruler of Benin. This is always the case in family harems. This is why the saying "the rooster sings the strongest" indeed qualifies the authority, wisdom and experience of the oldest wife. It was also part of the sacrificial offerings to the god Olokun. Produced by the guild of royal smelters, this zoomorphic figure is embellished with a finely streaked surface representing the plumage of the volatile. The animal is perched on a quadrangular base and an abundance of details are engraved on the whole. Black skate. Before the destruction of the palace of the Kingdom of Benin in 1897, the ...