African Arts Gallery

However, African masks and the Muslim
Etablis influence in the Ivory Coast, but also in Ghana, the Ligbi, Islamized, were influenced by tribal sculpture Senoufo, since they instructed Senoufo or Mandé to sculpt their masks. The Djiminis, on the other hand, are Senoufo living in the Dabakala region. This is why their masks linked to the society of the do whose dances were generally supervised by the Ligbi are imbued with these reciprocal influences. This masked tradition, shared by the Djimini, has been preserved to manifest itself during the religious festivals of the Eid-el-fitr and the Aïd el Kebir (sheep's festival) accompanied by sacrifices and songs, and thus symbolizing the breaking of the fast. Just before the festivities, if necessary, the mask will be repainted and ...

The primordial couple Nommos, at the origin of the creation among the Dogon of Mali, is here embodied by these long silhouettes, ethereal, figured in motion. Ochre brown patina.
The Dogon are a people renowned for their cosmogony, their esotericism, their myths and legends. Their population is estimated at about 300,000 souls living southwest of the Niger Loop in mali's Mopti region (Bandiagara, Koro, Banka), near Douentza and part of northern Burkina (northwest of Ouahigouya). Villages are often perched atop scree at the hillside, according to a unique architecture. The history of migration and the dogon facilities (about ten main groups, fifteen different languages) relates to several hypotheses. Some historians believe that the Dogons fled an area west of their present location ...

Among the Gouro and Yohouré, these masks of the je , gye, reserved for men, personify the power of spirits, who would have formed an alliance with men. Women must hide when they appear. Mask combining different zoomorphic elements, including a curved growth at the top, and a gaping mouth, incised with teeth. Satin patina, polychrome highlights.
Among the group of Mande in the south, in the center of Côte d'Ivoire, on the banks of the Bandama, the Gouro are organized in lineages, and constitute the western neighbors of the Baoulé who have borrowed several characteristics of their creations. Animists, they have been using a family of masks associated with the dy Zaouli. Indeed, like the African masks Goli des Baoulé, all Guro masks, related to the geniuses of nature, come in two ...

Named 'generous' in African art, these pottery are intended to collect palm wine. These jars with globular bodies, equipped with handles, have cephalomorphic gullies arranged face to face. The faces are marked by subtle differences suggesting a couple. Oiled patina, black and smooth, abrasions.
asebli in the forest in northeastern Zaire, the Mangbetu kingdom has expressed itself through architectural works that impressed European visitors in the 19th century. Their furniture, weapons, adornments and statuary were imbued with a rare aesthetic quality. The Mangbetu story was based on the refinement of his court but also on cannibalistic customs. King Mangbetu Munza was so dubbed The cannibal king. The body lines on the characters, like those of the face, include the traditional ...

The Tabwa ('scarifier' and 'write') are 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 ancestors mipasi through sculptures held by chiefs or sorcerers.
Simples farmers without centralized power, the Tabwa united around tribal leaders after being influenced by the Luba. It was mainly during this period that their artistic current was expressed mainly through statues but also through masks. The Tabwa worshipped ancestors and dedicated some of their statues to them. Animists, their beliefs are rooted around ngulu, spirits of nature present in plants and rocks. Source: Treasures of Africa Ed. Tervuren Museum.

This African Mask Baoulé, known as the portrait mask or Ndoma , depicts an ovoid face topped with horns and figures associated with the calao. A collar highlights the contours of the face. These portraits 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 themselves at the end of the entertainment dance ceremonies. The latter are named, depending on the regions, bedwo, ngblo, mblo, adjussu, etc. Each of these masks are distinguished by the hairstyles, the location and the choice of scarifications. Hot brown patina, shiny, ochre residue.
They occur during danced events accompanied by music and songs, celebrations, visits to personalities, featuring various satirical ...

The sculpted effigy, against, glorifies the qualities of hunter, mythical hero and founder of the ethnic group, Chibinda Ilunga. The chef, with oversized palms and feet, has an impressive nobility headdress. Easily recognizable by this ample headdress with curved side fins (cipenya-mutwe), he had taught his people the art of hunting. This work stands out for its various details very finely chiseled. Originally, the patinas were obtained from the repeated application of castor oil and dyeing vegetable decoctions. Brown mahogany highlights highlight this Chokwe statue. Very good condition.
Paisiblely settled in eastern Angola until the 16th century, the Chokwé were then subjected to the Lunda empire from which they inherited a new hierarchical system and the sanctity of power. ...

Mastering the sculpture with talent, the Hemba have mainly produced statues of ancestors singiti , embodying leaders, local warriors, or lineage ancestors that they venerate in order to appease mizimus spirits. A wide variety of ritual objects, fetishes, simian masks, gourds, and others of daily use have made their reputation. The pieces called soko mutu , suku muntu , (from Swahili," man's brother", and KiHemba, ibombo ya soho : "face de singe") belonged to the cult of ancestors and existed in two forms: on the one hand large masks used in ritual dances, and on the other hand, small masks or statuettes used as gifts, were hung in the boxes as protective amulets. These masks have recently been renamed mwisi gwa so'o , which expresses a concept that it is a chimpanzee spirit that would be ...

This comb is topped by a calao figure that is the primordial bird that is one of the five animals of the Cosmogony Senoufo, the first stage of the creation of Senoufo. Evoked for morphological and behavioural criteria, it emblematicly decorates, in its miniature version, many objects of African art senoufo.
Princile Farmers, the Senoufo Group lives in a savannah region that covers southern Mali and Burkina Faso, and northern Côte d'Ivoire. It encompasses about 50 sub-ethnic groups. SSenoufo speak a voltaic language Gur, Gour, like the Lobi and the Koulango. The councils of elders, led by an elected chief, administer the senoufo villages. Governed by matrilineal traditions, they are composed of clusters of dwellings named katiolo . Each of them has its own association Poro which ...

A slender shape and clean features for this Lega mask that was not worn in front of the face but arranged on a claie with other masks of different sizes, attached to the arm, the neck, or held by hand. The eyebrow arch is streaked with hatches associated with traditional scarifications. A long raffia beard accompanies this tribal mask. Clear patina, grainy kaolin residue. This African Lega mask indicated the stage that its holder had reached within the Bwami, a learning society composed of different ranks, and which were joined by wives whose spousehad reached the third level, that of the ngandu . Mask with beard: 44 cmWithin the Lega, the society of the Bwami open to men and women, organized social and political life. There were up to seven levels of initiation, each associated with ...

African art Gouro.
Among the group of Mande of the south, in central Côte d'Ivoire, the Gouro have been using a family of African masks associated with the dance Zaouli since the 1950s. Like the Goli masks of the Baoulé, all Guro masks come in two zoomorphic masks followed by a third anthropomorph, which is considered the wife of the mask zamblé , the Gu . The Gu , whose function is apotropaic, represents a young woman with the criteria of beauty specific to Guro, especially facial scarifications and lime teeth. The zaouli incarnate a mature man with a beard represented by raffia cords attached to the lower perforations of the mask contours. The Zamblé, on the other hand, embodies a bush animal, usually an antelope. The forehead occupies three-quarters of the top volume of this ...

An African mask that intervenes during the initiation ceremonies of the adult state, the mukanda , marking among other things the end of the special bond between a son and his mother. This copy devoid of accessories, symbol of the first ancestor, offers checkered keloids forming stripes on the cheeks. The mouth opens on lined teeth, a criterion of feminine beauty in the Chokwe. A large headband engraved with parallel lines demarcates the forehead. The asymmetry of the sculpture is noteworthy. The nose flags bear witness to the attention to detail. Erosions of the chocolate patina. Smooth, sainy surface. Peacefully settled in eastern Angola until the 16th century, the Chokwé were then subjected to the Lunda empire from which they inherited a new hierarchical system and the sanctity of ...

For the Dan, or Yacuba, living in western Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia, the "d-" force that would animate the world would manifest itself in sculpted masks. This is how she seeks to bring knowledge to man in order to support him, and uses the channel of dreams beforehand. The spirits then indicate how to name the mask they wish to see made. These masks of different types are endowed with functions, social, spiritual and political, often evolving over time. Masks equipped with round orbits (gunye ge), facilitating vision, are part of all the masks of the northern Dan and are used for racing events during the dry season. The zapkei ge , also equipped with circular orbits, are responsible for preventing fires by watching over domestic fires. They are accessorized with hats, braids, textile ...

Reduced size for this African mask evoking a naja snake with dilated pupils. Losangic motifs of a sober polychromy borrowed from natural tones adorn its surface. This ancient sculpture has been affected by storage conditions. Mate and velvety patina, locally altered surface. Desication cracks.
As african serpentiform initiation group used mainly by Bulongic (Kifinda village), a subgroup Baga on Guinean coastline, its size can be as large as 2.50 m. These masks were divided into two groups bearing the names Mosolo kombo and Sangaran , each with specific functions. Their design took shape in an esoteric context, at night in the forest. Privileges of initiated men, embodying a spiritual entity, the Baga Sangaran masks attended only circumcision, every 24 years according to the ...

It was during funeral rites that this figure appeared, whose head cut into angular planes adopts a distressed expression. The digitized hands, gathered under the chin, seem to support the jaw. The exorbited pupils also mark the dismay. Referring to the masked dancers' outfits, cuffs and a raffia works belt, embellished with textile balls, give it an unusual character. Patina matte abrased, polychrome highlights. Cracks and abrasions.

Cossased statues named Ibubi , belonging to the Nkumi, a former Bukota used as the figure kakungu for the initiation rites of male society, played a role in mediations in disputes. The Metoko and Lengola, whose ritual sculptures are very close, are peoples of the primary forest dedicated to the worship of a single God, a rare monotheism in Africa. ...

The decorative motifs are carefully chiseled here, highlighting the salient volumes whose rhythm follows in a balanced way. Large eye sockets lined with eyebrows engraved in ears extend to the center of the face. The nose, carefully worked, dominates lips rolled up on a regular teeth. The rectangle-cut shoulders and extended arms separated from the bust, and the strong flexed legs, evoke energy and bravery. Effigy of a royal ancestor all manhood, this sculpture was arranged, accompanied by a female statuette, sheltered in a small funeral hut. Dense wood, some splinters and desication cracks. Patine mate.
On the accounts, the Boyos are of Luba ancestry, by an ancestor who emigrated with his brothers. Migratory flows have mixed within the same territories of the Bembe, Lega, Buyu ...

Symbolizing a local chief, this Hemba effigy, whose characteristics were once attributed to the Luba, was carved to create a link with the guardian spirits. The Hemba clan leaders had several statues of ancestors whom they venerated and to which they dedicated offerings in order to establish their legitimacy. The position is classic, hands valuing a protruding abdomen, symbol of lineage. The sophisticated headdress is bounded by a tiara.

Black brown Patine. Satin surface. Split base.
The Luba (Baluba in Tchiluba) are a people of Central Africa, established in the south-east of the R.D.C, on plains surrounded by streams. Their cradle is the Katanga, specifically the region of the Lubu River, so the name (Baluba, which means the Lubas). They were born from a secession of ...

The fan hairstyle of this female figure was sported by the Mangbetu: from an early age, the children were compressed from the cranial box by means of raffia bonds. Later, the hair was \