African Arts Gallery

Gelede mask depicting a face surmounted by a horseman on his mount. In Nigeria, also in Benin, this type of African mask is used during the joyful dances of the Gelede society, and on the occasion of the funerals of its followers. These masks often illustrate proverbs and are produced in pairs, each with a specific name. Grainy matte patina, small accidents.
The Gelede country in Nigeria pays homage to mothers, especially the oldest among them, whose powers are said to be comparable to those of the Yoruba gods, or orisa, and ancestors, osi and who can be used for the benefit but also for the misfortune of society. In the latter case these women are called aje. The masked ceremonies, through performances using masks, costumes and dances, are meant to urge mothers to use their ...

The African masks of the Yombe, very naturalistic, were used by the diviner nganga diphoba and by members of secret societies.
This type of mask, of which there are different variants, would be called Khimba, according to Marc Léo Félix. Two-tone patina, abrasions, shine.
Height on base: 29 cm.
A clan of the Kongo group, the Yombe are established on the west coast of Africa, in the south-west of the Republic of Congo and in Angola. Their statuary includes remarkable maternities. The Vili , the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembe, the Bwende, the Yombé and the Kôngo formed the Kôngo group, led by King ntotela . Their kingdom reached its peak in the 16th century with the trade in ivory, copper and the slave trade. With the same beliefs and traditions, they produced ...

Former French collection of American tribal art Witnesses to the traditions of the Hopi Indian peoples of Arizona, the Katsinam sculpted objects (song. Kachina) are used during traditional dances organized for the annual festivals in favor of rain. This Hopi-type mask, flanked by mobile ears and a bird "beak", is topped with Katsinam statuettes representing masked dancers. Polychrome matte patina, abrasions and small accidents.

African Art Dogon
Insignia of power carved with figures in high relief. The subjects refer to Dogon mythologies and cults. Oiled brown patina, missing parts.
The Dogon are a people renowned for their cosmogony, their myths and legends, living in the southwest of the Niger bend in the Mopti region of Mali and part of the North of the The villages are often perched on top of scree on the hillsides, according to a unique architecture. The history of the migrations and settlements of the Dogon (about ten main groups, about fifteen different languages), is based on several hypotheses. For some historians, the Dogon fled from an area located to the west of their current location, following an aggression. Remains of ancient steel sites on the Bandiagara plateau, dating from the ...

Statue head carved from dense wood, representing a "mujimu" ancestor. Height on base: 30 cm.
Matt brown patina. Cracks.
The Kusu established on the left bank of the Lualaba have borrowed the artistic traditions of the Luba and the Hemba and have a caste system similar to that of the Luba. The Kasongos form a Kusu subgroup, now dispersed among the Luba, Songye and Hemba. The therapeutic figures of the Kasongos, used by healers, were inspired by Songye fetishes. The magic charge, composed of ingredients of various origins, was inserted into the cavity of the head.

In Mali, the didactic masquerades of the sogobo are populated by animal masks. This tradition of puppet theater is common to the multi-ethnic peoples living in the interior delta of the Niger, including the Bozo and the Malinké. Unlike the ciwara masks linked to agrarian rites, these zoomorphic masks are masks of theatrical festivities, referring to local myths and tales. Grainy patina of use, desication cracks, alterations.
Established in central and southern Mali, in a savannah zone, the Bambara, "Bamana" or "unbelievers", as the Muslims have named them, belong to the large Mande group, with the Soninke and the Malinke. Mainly farmers, but also breeders, they make up the largest ethnic group in Mali. Animists, they believe in the existence of a creator god generically called ...

African art Kongo.
This type of African mask would have been the prerogative of the nganga, priest-soothsayer. The glazed gaze would reflect mediumistic abilities, which the Kongo believed to promote through the use of hallucinogenic substances. This type of mask was called ngobudi. Abraded matte patina, cracks from drying.
Height on base: 54 cm.
These mediator masks, also present in initiatory processes, were used by fetishists during healing rituals. At the same time, they also served to identify individuals who, through their actions, could disrupt 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 between present-day DRC, Angola and Gabon. The "ntotela" king controlled the ...

African mask "Déanglé", decorated with a braided hairstyle and metal bells, and whose fine face with half-closed eyes testifies to the quality of Dan sculpture.
Black patina.
The Dan masks, of varied design, are generally performed during very theatrical entertainment festivals where women play a leading role. The so-called "mocking" mask called Déanglé defines an ideal of beauty and benevolence because it is sculpted in honor of the young girls of the village or renowned men. Each mask had a name linked to its function. Also used during circumcision rites, they appear in the company of the singing masks gle sö and the large masks go ge relating to the go society, which exercises justice and maintains social stability.

Revealing the adze strokes, an African sculpture named mwanangana depicting a chief from the Moxico region, wearing the chipangula cheffale. The chiefs had a major function in the propitiation rites intended for hunting and the fertility of women. Applications of castor oil and coloring plant decoctions were generally applied to the work.
Glossy black surface. Cracks.

Peacefully settled in eastern Angola until the 16th century, the Chokwé were then subject to the Lunda empire from which they inherited a new hierarchical system and the sacredness of power. Three centuries later, they ended up seizing the capital of the Lunda weakened by internal conflicts, thus contributing to the dismantling of the kingdom. The Chokwé did not have centralized power but large ...

French African Art Collection J. Anquetil, President of French Crafts, comedian who became master weaver having been initiated among the Dogon of Mali, and author of several books including "Africa, the Hands of the World" published by Solar Editions.
Accompanying the mukanda ceremonies, this mask offers discreet scarifications, unpierced eyes, and a prominent chin. Smooth red patina, satin surface.
The masks of the Chokwe, Luda, Luvale/Lwena, Luchazi and Mbunda clans are called "makishi" (sing. likishi) in Zambia. This name comes from "kishi", a Bantu concept that evokes the ...

The African mask Mbole appears on stage during the funerals of Lilwa dignitaries or is used by the blacksmith during circumcision rituals. Flat, oval in shape, it offers discreet reliefs accentuating the eyebrow line that is enhanced by contrasting shades. Height on base: 38 cm.
The Lualaba province had several closely related ethnic groups with similar associations. The Mbole and the Yela are known for their statues embodying, according to D. Biebuck, hanged men, called ofika. The lilwa, an association with dogmatic initiation rites, had the custom of judging and condemning to hanging those guilty of infractions of the imposed rules, which nevertheless remained exceptional. These offences ranged from murder to adultery to breaking the secret surrounding the lilwa. Dishonoured, the ...

Prestige sculptures in African tribal art. An African female figure would form the "receptacle of a deceased sovereign chief" (Luba, Roberts). The prominent scarifications around the navel, "center of the world" associated with lineage, testify to notions of fertility. This type of miniature stool called lupona, or kioni, kipona, kiona, depending on the source, constitutes the meeting point of the sovereign, his people, and the protective spirits and ancestors, where past and present symbolically and spiritually mingle. It once formed the seat on which the king was enthroned. The seats were placed on leopard skins during the investiture of the new chief. It was only after sitting down that his speech took on a royal and divine character. Apart from these exceptional circumstances, the ...

Belgian collection of African art .
The pfemba or phemba maternity figures, symbols of the mythical ancestor, are associated with fertility cults. The child embodies the matrilineal transmission of power. The Yombe decorated their textiles, mats and loincloths, with patterns related to proverbs glorifying work and social unity. The patterns inscribed on the subject's bust echo the designs of the woven fabrics. Smooth two-tone mahogany/brown patina. Minor cracks and chips.
The Solongo cultures of Angola and Yombe were largely influenced by the Kongo kingdom, from which they borrowed naturalistic statuary and religious rites by means of sculpted fetishes nkondo nkisi.
The Yombe are established on the West African coast, in the southwest of the Republic of Congo and in ...

Ex-Belgian collection of African art African statuette associated with the ancestor and mythical hero, founder of the ethnic group, Chibinda Ilunga. The head, with oversized palms and feet, has a noble headdress with curved side wings (cipenya-mutwe), wicker frame covered with fabric, brass, leather, and pearls. The chief had taught his people the art of hunting.
Brilliant nuanced brown patina, erosions and desiccation cracks.
The Tschokwe, of Bantu culture, had established themselves in eastern Angola, but also in the Congo and Zambia. Following different alliances, they mingled with the Lunda who taught them hunting. Their social organization also affected Tschokwe society. The Tschokwe, however, ended up dominating the Lunda, whose kingdom was dismantled at the end of ...

Plank mask whose only relief resides in a prominent forehead extended by an imposing triangular nose. The diamond-shaped mouth streaked with teeth is a particularity of certain eastern Kete masks.
Grainy matte patina, polychrome highlights, cracks.
The Kete, established between the Luba and the Songye, have intermingled with the Kuba and the Tschokwe and derive their subsistence from hunting, net fishing, and agriculture. Their matrilineal society worships nature spirits called mungitchi through offerings and incantations. Believing in reincarnation, they also fear a supreme god called mboom. The rituals of their initiation societies are different from those of the Kuba. Some Kete villages used to pay tax to the King of the Kuba. Groups borrowed masks from their neighbors ...

Ex-Belgian collection of African tribal art In use within clans living in the north of the Ituri region by the society of Nkunda diviners, this African mask called Nsembu is produced in male-female pairs. Pastillage refers to the animal world and the patterns that adorn bodies during initiatory rites.

Matte patina. Abrasions. Height on base: 52 cm.
The Kumu, Bakumu, Komo, live mainly in the North-East and the center in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their Bantu language is komo or kikomo. Several ethnic groups are closely intertwined, with similar associations: the Mbole, the Yela, the Lengola, and the Metoko. Their artistic production also presents great similarities with that of the Metoko and Lengola. Their divination masks were exhibited during the closing ...

French collection of tribal art.
According to R. Ballarini in "The Perfect Form" (p.182), this primitive African currency is associated with the prestige of Tikar chiefs. A sort of bowl with a long handle, it also has a chain extended by a spatula-shaped blade. Grainy brown-black patina.
The Tikar populate the western part of central Cameroon which is located within the dense secondary forest of medium altitude, along the Mbam. These black iron blades were used as currency but also for offerings, wedding dowries and for major festive and ceremonial occasions. "Before the colonial era, payments in Africa were never made using coins. Transactions were made using products considered valuable because they were rare, useful, or desirable: livestock, pieces of fabric , pearls, cowrie ...

The Luba are renowned for their statuary and in particular their neckrests and stools made up of a caryatid figure. The figures adorning this neckrest to preserve the complex headdress of its owner refer to Luba royalty and tutelary spirits. But neckrests were also used to support the heads of the deceased, and sometimes, according to Albert Maesen, buried in their place. Brown satin patina, abrasions.
The Luba (Baluba in Chiluba) are a people of Central Africa. Their cradle is Katanga, more precisely the region of the Lubu River, hence the name (Baluba, which means “the Lubas”). They were born from a secession of the Songhoy ethnic group, under the leadership of Ilunga Kalala who killed the old king Kongolo who has since been revered in the form of a python. In the 16th century ...

This African mask Lega indicated the stage that its holder had reached within the Bwami, a learning society composed of different grades. Thick partially chipped kaolin patina. Desication cracks.
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 chief, kindi, is held by the oldest man in the clan, who must be the highest ranking. 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 ...

Comparable to African sculptures Hemba, African sculptures kusu represent bearded subjects embodying chiefs or ancestors and offer a frontal posture, hands on the abdomen. Satin brown patina, gaps and cracks.
The Kusu established on the left bank of the Lualaba have borrowed the artistic traditions of the Luba and the Hemba and have a caste system similar to that Luba.
The singiti statues were preserved by the fumu mwalo and honored during ceremonies during which sacrifices were offered to them. Alongside the authority of hereditary chiefs, secret societies, male such as the bukazanzi, and female, the bukibilo, played a major role within the clan.

A source of inspiration for sculptors, wild and domestic animals also form the subjects of puppet masks such as this ancient and imposing animal figure of an ox or a cow which is extended by a handle.
Matte polychrome patina, erosions and desication cracks. Height on base: 61 cm.

The Bozo , fishermen and farmers for the most part, live in the northern part of the Bambara country in the interior delta of the Niger and still remain semi-nomadic today, moving their homes according to seasonal floods. Mande-speaking people, they speak Sorogama. Within their group, we distinguish the Sorko or Sorogo, the Hain, and the Tie. Besides their remarkable masks, the Bozo and the Bambara are famous for their puppets of various sizes and frequently articulated, exhibited during the ...