African Arts Gallery

African mask Dan covered with red felt, extended by a long horsehair beard. Resinous aggregates at the top. Height on base: 42 cm.
Masks equipped with round eye sockets (gunye ge), facilitating vision, are part of all the masks of the northern Dan and are used for racing events during of the dry season. The zapkei ge, also equipped with circular orbits, are responsible for preventing fires by watching over domestic fires. Among the Dan, or Yacouba, living in the west of the Ivory Coast and in Liberia, the "dü" force which would animate the world would manifest itself in the sculpted masks. According to the Dan, the spirits indicate how to name the mask they wish to see made. These masks of different types are endowed with social, spiritual and political functions, often evolving ...

In African art, statuettes Lega. The teacher guided the aspiring lega to a place where African lega masks and statuettes were exhibited, and it was through attentive observation that the future initiate had to guess the more or less complex meaning of these objects, real metaphors referring largely to proverbs and sayings. Golden brown satin patina.
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. The role of leader, kindi, is held by the oldest man in the clan, who ...

This backrest offering numerous patterns represents an ancestor of the clan. The flared hairstyle, often topped with a horn, is characteristic of the hairstyles acquired by the Totshi chiefs belonging to the ikoho association and evokes particular proverbs. It symbolizes respect, intelligence and maturity. Numerous scarifications are traced all over the body. Glossy brown patina. Abrasions from use, cracks from desiccation.
A people from Central Africa established in Kasai, neighboring the Kuba, the Ndengese form one of the clans descended from a common Mongo ancestor, some of them being originally of the Upper Nile. The Nkutschu are related to the Ndengese. The latter produced statues with absent or truncated lower limbs, covered with graphic symbols, symbolizing the prestige of ...

Features projecting in the center of wide half-closed eyelids, curved volume, reduced, for the cheeks and the jaw, this tribal mask sporting a flat crest on a spherical skull offers an abraded polychromy. Matt patina. Abrasions.
Three types of African mask Kifwebe are listed: the masculine (kilume) generally with a high crest, the feminine (kikashi) would present a more modest or even absent crest, and finally the largest embodying power (kia ndoshi).
Also practiced by the Luba, the cult kifwebe ("mask" in Songye) acted as a secret police in favor of power, so as to control individuals through magic. Worn with a long costume and a long beard made of natural fibers, Kifwebe masks also appeared during crucial stages of initiation ceremonies, at the new moon.
The Songye came ...

Sculpted from a miniature replica of the African mask of the kifwebe society, this type of protective object adorned the box of its holder. Matte, velvety, abraded patina.
In the 16th century, the Songyes migrated from the Shaba region to settle on the left bank of the Lualaba. Their society is organized in a patriarchal way. Their history is inseparable from that of the Luba, to whom they are related through common ancestors. Very present in their society, divination made it possible to discover sorcerers and to shed light on the causes of the misfortunes that struck individuals. Three types of African Kifwebe masks are distinguished: the masculine (kilume) generally with a high crest, the feminine (kikashi) would present a more modest or even absent crest, and finally the ...

This African mask with a harmonious face constitutes one of the stylistic variants of the white masks of Gabon, itengi, (pl. bitengi). An enveloping headdress contours the face. The checkerboard scarifications, mabinda, are abraded. Matt patina, minimal erosions, desiccation cracks. In tribal art, this tribal mask from Gabon was associated with the various secret societies of Gabon, including the Bwiti, Bwete, and the Mwiri ("to lead"), the latter spanning several levels of initiation, to which all Punu men belonged, and whose emblem was the caiman. The Punu did not involve any mask in Bwiti rituals, unlike the Tsogo. These powerful secret societies, which also had a judicial function, featured several dances, including the leopard dance, the Esomba, the Mukuyi, and the i> ...

In African art, sowei form an idealized representation of female beauty through the Mende culture. They embody the water spirits. This cephalomorphic mask forms an example of the type of masks named bundu most important among the Mende. The face is encased in a thick ringed neck whose abundance of flesh symbolizes prosperity.
Painted black or stained with a leaf wash, the mask was then rubbed with palm oil.
Semi-satin patina, weak indigo residue, abrasions. The Mende, Vaï and Gola cultures of Sierra Leone, Liberia and the west coast of Guinea are known in African art for their helmet masks, particularly those of the female initiation society, Sandé, which prepares young girls for marriage. As for the male society, it is the Poro society.  Relatively rare in ...

African initiation mask, Mbuya embellished with a basketry and raffia cloth headdress. The patina results from a mixture of ochre bark and palm oil.
Height on base: 54 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 difficult to differentiate without their costume, including the chief fumu or ufumu, the diviner and his wife, the prostitute,the jester, tundu , the possessed, etc.... The Mbuya ...

This African mask of initiation, Mbuya, emanates from the Pende of the West whose Yaka influence is notable in the slightly upturned nose facture.
Featuring large slit eyes, it recalls the Pende custom of not staring in public. This African Pende mask sports a headdress made of cloth and raffia fibers extended with a cloth hood, and a chin strap.
Total height on base: 46 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 Salampasu have been imprinted on their extensive tribal art sculpture. Within this diversity the Mbuya masks, realistic, produced every ten years, have a festive ...

This African introductory mask, Mbuya , emanates from the Western Pende whose influence Yaka is notable for the slightly upturned nose, the line of eyebrows emanating from the neighboring Chokwe. Easily identifiable by its hairstyle consisting of four horns whose movements accompanied the jerky dance, this mask expresses the masculine and feminine qualities of the chef. This mask is stylistically very close to the Pumbu , but with rounder horns and slightly softer features. (Pende, Strother) The mask Pumbu embodies, to protect himself from the vengeance of his prey, the spirit of a big game hunter, and the executor who willingly shed human blood, Ngunza. For the Central Pende its Pundu mask is besides very different in its formal appearance. This African mask Pendé Fumu sports a chin ...

Tribal art and the diversity of Bwa masks.
This large Bwa plank mask, in the hawk mask category but frequently affected by the butterfly mask, has open wings with triangular patterns and circles engraved in wood. Each pattern is a symbol associated with the myths of the clan. The two-coloured patina is composed of kaolin and a brown coating with light burgundy highlights. The circles would symbolize the flight of butterflies around the ponds during the first rains.
Good general condition.
The Bwa masks borrowed many elements from the Bwa's neighbours, the Gurunsi, Bobo and Mossi.Population established on both sides of the Black Volta in Burkina Faso and Mali, the Bwa are divided into three endogamous castes: blacksmiths, griots and farmers. The Bwa believe in a god ...

This female figure associated with the mythical female ancestor is said to intervene in human fertility and the fertility of the land. Her face forms a miniature replica of the powerful mukishi wa pwo nyi cijingo ca tangwa mask topped with the kambu ja tota. ("Chokwe and Their Bantu Neighbours" Rodrigues de Areia.) br> Orange brown satin patina. Cracks.
Peacefully settled in eastern Angola until the sixteenth century, the Chokwe were then subjected to the Lunda empire from which they inherited a new hierarchical system and the sacredness of power. Nevertheless, the Chokwe never fully adopted these new social and political contributions. Three centuries later, the Chokwe eventually took over the capital of the Lunda, which had been weakened by internal conflicts, thus ...

African masks and Muslim influence.
Featuring arched horns evoking the siginkuru-ayna buffalo, a sacrificial bovine associated with the image of the "former Muslim" Horingyo, this mask offers large, lowered eyelids. Velvety brown patina. Minor abrasions.
Established in Ivory Coast, but also in Ghana, the Ligbi, Islamized, nevertheless suffered the influence of Senoufo tribal sculpture, since they charged Senoufo or of the Mandé to carve their masks. The Djimini, for their part, are Sénoufo living in the Dabakala region. This is the reason why their masks linked to the society of 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 ...

Crew made up of mythical subjects associated with the "nommos", their boat taking the shape of a crocodile. This imaginary world, taken from the legends of Dogon creation, inspires the work of Dogon artisans. Gray-green patina.
Dogon blacksmiths form an endogamous caste among the Dogon called irim. Today they produce weapons, tools, and also work wood. “Masters of fire” associated in Dogon cosmogony with the primordial beings “Nommo” created by the god Ama, they are also supposed to treat burns. Small metal objects, made using the lost wax technique, were widespread in the Inner Niger Delta region, with copper arriving there through trans-Saharan trade. Excavations on the Bandiagara plateau have in fact uncovered remains of iron and steel sites dating from before the 15th ...

African animal masks from Burkina Faso
. Animal crest mask, discreetly polychrome patina, missing (tail), abrasions, small accidents.
A Mandingo people, the majority of whom live in the east of Burkina Faso, but also in the south of Mali, the culture of the Bobo Fing is close to that of the Bambara. They are organized into lineages led by councils of elders. In each village altars are erected under the authority of blacksmiths, priests of the cult of Dwo, but the Bobo also worship secondary spirits and those of the ancestors. In addition to objects carved from wood, they also make masks from fiber sheets that they wear during ceremonies to establish a relationship with the spiritual world. The most important wooden masks are the sacred altar masks (molo and nwenke), the masks ...

This type of African mask would have been the prerogative of the nganga, diviner-priest. The largely hollowed-out gaze and the eyelids underlined in red would reflect the mediumistic capacities, which the Kongo thought they favored by taking hallucinogenic substances. This type of mask was called ngobudi. Brilliant polychrome patina.
Height on base: 438 cm.
These mediating masks, also present in initiation processes, were used by witch doctors during healing rituals. At the same time, they also served to identify individuals who, through their actions, could disturb the harmony of the community. In the 13th century, the Kongo people, led by their king Ne Kongo, settled in a region at the crossroads of the borders between the current DRC, Angola and Gabon. The "ntotela" king ...

On the face of these male-female Bwa statues, triple scarifications in bundles called "the number of ancestors" would evoke the posts supporting the houses of the ancestors. The legs disappear into a massive, eroded base, restored with metal staples.
This type of sculpture would be associated with the rituals of fertility and fertility, and appeared among the masks at the ceremonies of purification of the village, receiving offerings and libation from the participants. Matte velvety patina. Cracks.
A population established on both sides of the Black Volta in Burkina Faso and Mali, the Bwa are divided into three endogamous castes: blacksmiths, griots and farmers. The Bwa believe in a god Difini, creator of the world, who later abandoned it to his son Do. In addition to the ...

A faceted morphology for this Yela statue featuring a character with a narrow bust supported by thick angular legs. The large diamond-cut head offers a face with simply traced features.

Belgian African art collection
Produced by the pygmies of the Ituri forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, these fabrics woven from ficus bark fibers were painted by the women. The men cut the wood and hammered the bark, and the women generally used a decoction of gardenia mixed with coal ash to draw patterns with fingers or plant stems similar to the tattoos worn by members of the tribe. On this thick copy, the rhythm and the space created between the different signs would also have a link with the polyphonic songs through which the Mbuti pygmies of Ituri address God. Woolly touch texture. The Mangbetu, in contact with the Asua pygmies, produced a similar type of fabric (called tapa in Oceania) decorated with more complex symbols called murumba or nogetwe. This type of ...

Produced by the pygmies of the Ituri forest in Democratic Republic of Congo, these fabrics woven from ficus bark fibers were painted by the women. The men cut the wood and hammered the bark, and the women generally used a decoction of gardenia mixed with coal ash to draw patterns with fingers or plant stems similar to the tattoos worn by members of the tribe. The rhythm and the space created between the different signs would also have a link with the polyphonic songs through which the Mbuti pygmies of Ituri address God. Thick texture with a woolly feel. The Mangbetu, in contact with the Asua pygmies, produced a similar type of fabric (called tapa in Oceania) decorated with more complex symbols called murumba or nogetwe. This type of fabric, if it was not worn as a loincloth, could be ...

Animal sculptures in African art.

Embodying the spirit of the nkug forest, this protective African sculpture is treated in a naturalistic way. Heterogeneous matte patina, minor erosions and cracks.
Located between Cameroon and Gabon, in the equatorial forest, the Boulou are part of the Fang-Beti group. Like the Fang of South Cameroon famous for their large white masks, and in contact with the Bakwele of the far south-east of Cameroon, the Boulou also practiced the Ngi rite to fight against witchcraft and poisoning. Ngi is the gorilla, a formidable animal with which the applicant identifies after his acceptance into the secret society.