African Arts Gallery

Accompanying the circumcision rites in the Ivindo valley, this type of mask had the role of entertaining or impressing by begging donations for the young people invited to the ceremonies. The wearer's costume was made of raffia fibers. Two-tone patina. Chips, abrasions, minor cracks.
The Mahongwe, Obamba, Shamayé and Sango form with the Kota a group with similar rites and society. It is in the eastern part of Gabon that they live among the forests.

Deep mask with linear patterns forked from the nose to the upper part of the forehead. Metal teeth adorn the mouth. Zande masks were used during funeral ceremonies of the Mani society.
Irregular matte patina, erosions and small accidents.
Formerly known as "Niam-Niam" because they were considered cannibals, the tribes grouped under the name of Zande, Azandé, settled, from Chad, on the border of the DRC (Zaire), Sudan and the Central African Republic. According to their beliefs, man would be endowed with two souls, one of which transforms upon his death into the totem animal of the clan to which he belongs. The African tribal art of the Zande, or "those who own a lot of land", apart from their court art consisting of spoons, receptacles, pipes and harps, includes two types of ...

African face mask Makonde associated with an ancestral spirit. This sculpture is characterized by a deeply sunken look highlighting the relief of the cheekbones and the ears placed in height. The hairstyle forms a double crest. A labret deforms the upper lip. Dark satin patina.
Height on base: 37 cm.

The Makonde of northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania wore helmet masks called lipiko during initiation ceremonies for young people. The Makonde venerate an ancestor, which explains the abundance of naturalistic female statuary. Besides the face masks worn during mapiko dances and ngoma ceremonies that educate young people about the demands of marriage and family life. the Makonde also produce body masks featuring the female bust. For the Makonde, the ancestors would return ...

Ex. French collection of early African art.
Borrowed from the Igbo of the Cross River, the African masks Idoma crests also relate to warrior masquerades. The subject refers to a water spirit, anjenu, . The scarification that divides the forehead is typical of the Idoma, as are the prominent scars on the temples.

Minor cracks.
The Idoma settled at the confluence of the Benue and the Niger. The members of the royal lineage of their oglinye society, glorifying courage, use masks and crests during funerals and festivities. The janiform crests are generally exhibited at the funerals of notables. Members of the male society Kwompten, on the other hand, used statues called goemai in healing rituals. Crusty matte patina. Minor erosions and cracks.
Ref. "Arts of ...

Among the clans living in the north of the Uituri region, the Nkunda society of diviners used this type of African mask called Nsembu in male-female pairs. Matte patina. Height on base: 40 cm.
The Kumu, Bakumu, Komo, live mainly in the Northeast and center of 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 the Lengola. Their divination masks were exhibited during the closing ceremonies of the initiation and circumcision of the young people of the nkunda society. It is in fact in the Maniema region around the Lualaba River and the Great Lakes that ...

Belgian collection of African art
Lustrous red-brown patina. Abrasions and minor accidents.
The Chokwe pwo masks are among the many akishi (or mukishi, for the singular) masks of Chokwe African art . They embody an ideal of feminine beauty, symbolized by Mwana Pwo , or the Pwo woman, and are often presented during festive ceremonies. Pwo masks are associated with fertility and prosperity, playing an important role in community life.
This mask is accompanied here by its braided raffia headdress. The characteristic motifs present on the forehead, and sometimes on the cheekbones, are essential elements of Chokwe aesthetic canons. They also served as public markers of ethnic identity. The recurring cruciform frontal motif has a cosmogonic significance, according to some ...

Collection of BelgianAfrican art, the name will be communicated to the buyer.
This African initiation mask, Mbuya, comes from the Pende of the West, where the Yaka influence is notable through the slightly upturned nose, and the line of the eyebrows recalls the features of the neighboring Chokwe. This mask symbolizes the masculine and feminine qualities of the leader. The Western Pende are established on the banks of the Kwilu, while the Eastern Pende reside on the banks of the Kasai downstream of Tshikapa. Their tribal sculpture is marked by the influence of neighboring ethnic groups such as Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salempasu.
Within this cultural diversity, the Mbuya masks, realistic and produced every ten years, have a festive function. They embody different ...

Reduced mask, semi-spherical, which has similarities to the Songye masks. However, it did not perform the same function. This category of rather rare African masks are called "bifwebe". They appeared at funerals and investitures.
They performed during the ritual ceremonies of the kazanzi society, responsible for the fight against witchcraft. "Bifwebe" (Sing.: Kifwebe) would also mean, according to C. Faïk-Nzuji, "to chase death". Worn with a voluminous raffia ruff that concealed the dancer, this mask was generally danced in the company of a zoomorphic mask. Among the Luba, white is synonymous with the relationship with the spiritual world, by the evocation of the moon evoked by the circular shape of the object. Matte patina.

Manipulated during rituals but not worn, this African mask Lega of reduced size indicated the stage that its holder had reached within theBwami, apprenticeship society composed of different grades, and which were joined by wives whose spouse had reached the third level, that of ngandu.
Within the Léga, the society of Bwami open to men and women, organized social and political life. There were up to seven levels of initiation, each associated with emblems. Following Social recognition and authority also had to be earned individually: the leader owed his selection to his heart (mutima), good character, intelligence, and impeccable behavior. During ritual ceremonies, Idumu masks, collectively owned, were presented to initiates placed on a ...

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 manifestation of a spirit or an ancestor. These agents of social, moral and spiritual order, forming a panel of different characters, sociable, aggressive, or unpredictable, in fact embody the spirit of an illustrious ancestor (male or female), their appearance manifesting itself mainly during rites mukanda, including circumcision, during which their true identity must remain hidden from the eyes of the profane.
Ocher brown velvety patina, abrasions.
Of Lunda origin, the Lwena emigrated from Angola to Zaire in the 19th century, repelled by the Chokwe. When some became slave traders, other groups ...

The asymmetry of the powerful features of this tribal mask participates in the strength that it expresses. Large bands of contrasting colors, locally abraded, mark the surface. Eroded contours. Abrasions.
 Three types of African Kifwebe art masks are listed: the masculine (kilume) generally with a high crest, the feminine (kikashi) would present a more modest crest or even absent, and finally the largest embodying power (kia ndoshi).
Also practiced by the Luba, the cult kifwebe ("mask" in Songye) acted as a secret police force for power, so as to control individuals through magic. Worn with a long suit and a long beard made of natural fibers, Kifwebe masks additionally appeared during crucial stages of initiation ceremonies at the new moon.
The Songye came from ...

This mask extended from a long narrow face has a rectangular nose overhanging protruding lips. The front offers zoomorphic elements. Metal veneers, streaked with decorative designs, are usually nailed to the surface. Matte brown patina, small accidents, missing (end of the ear).
In African art, the Marka, Maraka in Bamana, Warka, or even Sarakolé, are Muslim city dwellers of Soninke origin, established in the south of Niger, scattered since the end of the Ghana Empire in Mali, Mauritania and Senegal . They now speak Bamana and have adopted many of the Bambara traditions, such as the Ntomo and the Koré, initiation societies which used masks during their ceremonies. Bambara and Marka African art sculptors are part of the Numuw, who are not linked to an ethnic group and ...

This facial mask topped with a female figure is the Mossi equivalent of the African "satimbe" masks of the Dogon of Mali. This ancestor effigy is supposed to commemorate the life of an elderly woman who gave birth to children and fulfilled her obligations to her in-laws. Good condition.
The African art sculptures of the Bobo, Bwa, Kurumba and Mossi, living in Burkina Faso, frequently take up and combine stylized elements borrowed from men, animals or insects. It is the spirits of nature that are supposed to determine the well-being and prosperity of an individual, and adversity will be considered as the result of neglecting collective rites. It is therefore during different celebrations that the mask will personify a spirit of nature or that of an ancestor in order to influence ...

Mask with two faces that could be associated with the primordial couple and would therefore intervene during cults glorifying mythical ancestors or during funeral ceremonies. These masks could also belong to the Lemba cult promoting understanding within the couple. Abraded matte patina. The old base can be repainted on request.
Established near the Woyo on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean between the former Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo) and the Republic of Congo, the Kakongo sculpted works related to proverbs. Their statues were frequently equipped with magical charges such as the nkisi fetishes of the Kongo of the northwest. They also produced female figures and maternities. The Vili, the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembé, the Bwende, the Yombe and the Kôngo formed the ...

Ex-French collection of African art African mask Kwele Pipibuze, Pipibudze, ("the man") whose physiognomy marked by gentleness symbolizes the light and clairvoyance required to counter witchcraft. Its zoomorphic attributes refer to the antelope or duinker, the main game of the kwele region. This type of mask was not always intended to be worn, but decorated the walls of the huts. Two-tone velvety patina, abrasions and desiccation crack. Depending on the presence of horns and their arrangement, the masks are called pibibudzé, Ekuku zokou, etc... and are associated with the ancestors or spirits of the forest, " ekuk ". A tribe of the Kota group, the Kwélé, Bakwélé, live in the forest on the northern border of the Republic of Congo. They live from hunting, agriculture and ...

Symbolizing courage, this type of large African mask produced in the Awka region, and called "the time of the brave", combines double horns and a stylized face with a mouth composed of fangs. Grainy, matte patina, minor losses and cracks.
Among the Igbo living in the forest of southeastern Nigeria, these aggressive masks, often accompanied by a motley paraphernalia of quills, raffia, palm leaves and weapons, are performed during spectacular festivals during the dry season, the most famous being the okumkpa, and at some funerals. The largest are worn by mature initiated men of the Ekpo society. Each of the mask wearers embodies a spirit whose name the mask adopts.

Ex-French collection of tribal art.
The expressionism of Yupik ritual masks, ceremonial art of the Eskimo peoples. Yupik type mask, to hang. This mask has a joyful face coated with polychrome, matte colors. Abrasions. In the Arctic regions of North America called "Inuit Nunangat" lives the Inuit people related to the Yupitt, Yupiks, of Alaska and Siberia. The Yupik and Eskimo, Eskimo, make, while reproducing certain traditional conventions, ceremonial masks of very varied size and appearance. For each occasion, following a dream, the shaman will indicate to the sculptor the function and shape of the required mask and that he will wear himself. The masks are associated with the "yua" souls of different animals or fish, which should be honored through rituals.

The Ekiti of the northeastern part of the Yoruba region use polychrome helmet masks depicting the prosperity of the community. The base of the mask, named ikoko, is surmounted by a female figure associated with one of the multiple orisa gods of the Yoruba pantheon. The release of these masks, which will have been painted by their owners, takes place every two years. Despite the weight of the masks, the dancers perform spectacular acrobatic demonstrations. These ceremonies are also believed to increase fertility. Polychrome patina. Abrasions. Native restoration on one arm (resin).
The Yoruba, more than 20 million, occupy southwestern Nigeria and the central and southeastern region of Benin under the name of Nago. The kingdoms of Oyo and Ijebu arose following the disappearance of ...

Ex-collection African art Mercier.
Dan danglé mask, known as a portrait mask, whose features in high relief, despite a slight asymmetry providing a certain naturalness, form a particularly naturalistic type of face.
Height on base: 45 cm. Grainy, brown-grey matte patina. For the Dan, or Yacouba, living in western Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia, the "dü" force that animates the world is manifested in carved masks. It is in this way that she seeks to bring knowledge to man in order to support him, and first uses the channel of dreams. The spirits then 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 changing over time.

The Ngbaka, Ngbandi and Ngombe have scarification on their foreheads that extends to the nasal bridge, the crenellation is repeated here on the eyebrow line and runs under the eye sockets. This type of mask appeared in pairs during the Gaza initiations of the Ngbandi.
Erosions. Height on base: 56 cm.
In the northwest of Zaire, south of the Oubangui, on the banks of the Lualaba, live the 120,000 Bantu-speaking Ngombe, led by a chief and a warrior society Elombe. Their neighbors are the Ngbandi and the Ngbaka whose statuary has had an influence on their tribal sculpture, and various Banda groups. Their masks, sometimes of geometric appearance, are used during the rites of the Mani society. They also produce hunting fetiches with protective purposes, and prestige objects ...

Ex-Belgian collection of African art African mask whose surface bears deep streaks alternating red ocher and black pigments. These broad bands could correspond to the group's ritual paintings. Reduced features are uncommon. Grainy matte patina.
The Tetela and Yela groups are of Mongo origin and are neighbors. Tetela sculpture takes varied forms, borrowed from the clans they live with, including Songye inspirations with polychrome works. Several ethnic groups divided into lineages live closely together in the center of Zaire: the Mbole, the Yela, the Lengola, and the Metoko, and have similar associations. This proximity has generated certain stylistic borrowings. Their artistic production indeed presents great analogies with that of the Metoko and the Lengola. Their divination ...