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African art items:


We offer you a large selection of unique pieces of African art. Coming from private collections or purchased directly “in situ”, these works are the subject of a special study to determine their provenance as well as their conditions of acquisition. We make it a point of honor to offer our customers quality works of African art, old or contemporary, acquired within the framework of an ethical market. It is the history of these pieces that we invite you to discover through our gallery and websites.

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Touareg Ladle
African art > Spoons, ladles > Touareg Ladle

br> Usual objects in African art.
A functional accessory for ritual ceremonies, this sculpted spoon offers a deep cone-shaped spoon surmounted by a curved handle with a flat end. Very fine streaks adorn the surface.
Scattered throughout the Saharan region of Libya, Mali, Algeria and Niger, the Tuareg (sing: Targui), or "Veiled Men", would come from Berber pastors fleeing the Arabs in Libya in the 7th century. The targui blacksmith also sculpts wood, which is a rare material, carved objects which are often repaired to prolong their use are part of the dowry.
Ref. : "Black Africa, 1" J. Anquetil.


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180.00

Lega Mask
African art > African mask, tribal art, primitive art > Lega Mask

African mask of initiation to the Bwami, supposed to indicate the acquisition of a certain wisdom and individual morality. The flat surface, whose main element resides in a raffia beard springing from the mouth, bears minimalist features composed of linear reliefs. Height on base: 43 cm. Small chips, abrasions.
Within the Léga established on the west bank of the Lualaba River, in the DRC, 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. The role of chief, kindi, is held by the oldest man of the clan, who must be the highest ranking. As in other forest tribes, the men hunt and clear land while the women cultivate cassava. Social recognition and authority also had to be earned ...


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380.00

Lega Mask
African art > African mask, tribal art, primitive art > Lega Mask

Belgian collection of African art. Handled during rituals, or worn as an amulet, this ancient African Lega mask accompanied by feline fur indicated the stage that its holder had reached within the Bwami, a learning society composed of different grades. Height on base: 24 cm. Within the Lega, 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 Social recognition and authority also had to be earned individually: the chief owed his selection to his heart (mutima), a good character, his intelligence, and irreproachable behavior. During ritual ceremonies, the Idumu masks, collectively owned, were presented to the initiates placed on a barrier and surrounded by individual masks of a ...


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180.00

Luba Rattle
African art > Used objects, pulleys, boxes, loom, awale > Luba Rattle

Considered a "bankishi", this African sculpture is said to be endowed, in the Luba culture, with powerful magical and apotropaic powers. These objects come in different forms, such as this female figure surmounting a set of small calabashes. The posture, hands positioned near the breasts, recalls that the secrets of royalty belong to women thanks to their role as political and spiritual intermediaries. This object was used in the context of the Bugabo association, linked to hunting, healing and combat. It was customary, during rituals, to fill the calabash with magical ingredients in order to strengthen its power. The ingredients used produced a sound when the object was shaken, and were only sealed at the end of the ceremony.
(Luba, Roberts)


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180.00

Bidjogo Mask
promo art africain
African art > African mask, tribal art, primitive art > Bidjogo Mask

Animal masks and African decoration.
African mask named vaca bruto   in Creole, provided with real horns, and coming from the Bidjogo , established in the Bissagos archipelago made up of around thirty islands located off the coast of Guinea-Bissau. The mask is worn before or at the end of initiation ceremonies, by a young “cabaro” initiate, who will bend and rear up, conveying the idea of a young animal that is vigorous but still untamed, and the need to go through the initiatory process in order to acquire discipline and mastery.
Minor abrasions and desiccation cracks. Matte patina.


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380.00  280.00

Kharal Bowl
African art > Art of the world > Kharal Bowl

Singular object of oblong shape intended for pouring opium water, the tip pierced throughout its length forming a neck. It is a social accessory used during ceremonies welcoming guests of the same caste, in Pakistan and northern India. Beautiful glossy patina of use. For more information: "Drinking opium, a ritual of hospitality in northern India" Sandrine Prévot.


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180.00

African bronze
African art > Bronze, leopard, messenger, warrior, statue, pirogues > African bronze

Subject depicting a dwarf, or "madman", which appeared in the 15th century in the king's entourage, and were intended not only for diversion, but also for surveillance. Occult gifts were also attributed to them. According to Fagg, these figures were also acrobats and illusionists. This type of bronze sculpture must have adorned the altars of the ancestors.
Brown patina. In African art, Benin art is described as court art because it is closely associated with the king, or Oba.

Before the destruction of the palace of the kingdom of Benin in 1897, the divine character of the kings, the Oba, was illustrated by multiple codified works celebrating their power. Warlike scenes glorifying them were reproduced on narrative plaques, in bronze, and affixed to the walls. Sumptuous ...


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290.00

Sukuma Mask
African art > African mask, tribal art, primitive art > Sukuma Mask

Belgian African art collection.
African mask appearing in Tanzania during the dance ceremonies of the dry season. Geometric lines accentuated by linear scarifications. Reddish matte patina, erosions. Height with base: 39 cm.
The Luo, Kuria, Haya and Ziba, the Kéréwé, Karagwé, Sukuma and Nyamézi are established in the central western and central region of Tanzania. Along the shores of Lakes Tanganyika and Nyasa, and Lake Nyassa, the Ha, Jiji, Bendé, Tongwé, Holoholo, Fipa, Manbwé, Kondé, Kisi and Ngoni produced figurative statues, terracotta sculptures and inset masks of teeth.


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150.00

Sukuma Mask
African art > African mask, tribal art, primitive art > Sukuma Mask

African mask associated with dry season dance ceremonies in Tanzania. Linear scarifications divide the face of which the amplitude of the jaw forms a particularity. Thin sticks represent the teeth in the hollowed-out mouth in a rectangle. Remains of a headdress at the top. Velvety gray patina, erosions. Satin patina.
In the southern coastal region of Tanzania, around Dar-es-Salaam, a relatively homogeneous group produced most of the artistic productions. It includes the Swahili, Kaguru, Doé, Kwéré, Luguru, Zaramo, Kami. The second region is made up of a territory covering southern Tanzania to Mozambique, where some Makonde and the Yao, the Ngindo, Mwéra, and Makua live. In the North-East of Tanzania, the Chaga, Paré, Chamba, Zigua, Massaï, Iraqw, Gogo, and Héhé have an artistic ...


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180.00

Mangbetu drum
African art > Tam Tam, Djembe, musical instruments > Mangbetu drum

Percussion musical instrument of the 'a target'_blank' 'new'nofollow' href'https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mangbetu_ (people)'' Mangbetu, , this half-moon-shaped wooden idiophone has been fitted with a long slot that acts as a resonant opening. It is endowed with an anthropomorphic handle that includes the features of the ancestor figures nebeli .
The Mangebetu Kingdom in northern Congo produced architectural works that impressed European visitors in the 19th century. Their furniture, weapons, adornments and statuary were imbued with a rare aesthetic quality. The ethnologist G.A. Schweinfurth in 1870 described its symmetry and refinement, while at the same time testifying to the ritual killings and human sacrifices practiced by the people of elongated heads. The slot drum is not ...


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490.00

Statuettes Ewe
African art > African Dolls > Statuettes Ewe

French collection of African art A Togolese version of the Ibejdi of the Yoruba, these ancient statuettes of twins have a glossy two-tone patina.

The Ewe, often confused with the Minas, are the largest ethnic group in Togo. They are also found as minorities in Ghana, Benin, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. The Ewe consider the birth of twins called Venavi (or Venovi) to be a happy omen. They must be treated identically and fairly. For example, both will be fed and washed at the same time and will wear the same clothes, until puberty.
If one of the twins dies, the parents obtain a statuette to replace the deceased child.

Source: "Isn't she a doll?" E.L Cameron


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190.00

Yaka drummer figure
African art > African statues : tribal fetish, maternity > Yaka drummer figure

Private collection of African tribal art The sculpted subject could represent the diviner accompanying the ritual songs with the drum. Satin brown patina, encrusted residues of white clay and red ochre. Cracks and erosions.

Hierarchical and authoritarian, composed of fearsome warriors, the Yaka society was governed by lineage chiefs with the right of life and death over their subjects. Hunting and the prestige that comes from it are an opportunity today for the Yaka to invoke the ancestors and to resort to rituals using charms linked to the "khosi" institution. The initiation society for young people is the n-khanda, which is found among the eastern Kongo (Chokwe, Luba, etc.), and which uses various charms and masks in order to ensure a vigorous lineage.


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190.00

Pende Whistle
African art > Used objects, pulleys, boxes, loom, awale > Pende Whistle

Belgian collection of African art
These talismans, collectible objects worn as pendants, were used during collective hunts to signal to the team or the dogs and to guide the prey towards a specific target. The whistle emitted could be modulated thanks to a lateral appendage. Specialized hunters used a variety of ritual objects to ensure the success of their expeditions.
The Western Pende settled on the banks of the Kwilu, while their eastern counterparts founded their communities along the Kasai, downstream from Tshikapa. Their vast sculptural production, rich in tribal art, was strongly influenced by neighboring peoples such as the Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salempasu. Among this diversity, the Mbuya masks, made with striking realism every ten years, have a mainly ...


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120.00

Dogon bronze
African art > Bronze, leopard, messenger, warrior, statue, pirogues > Dogon bronze

African bronze pot to collect medicinal preparations designed according to the advice of the ancients initiated into the science of trees or "jiridon", surmounted by an ancestor figure. The walls are decorated with allegorical decorative motifs, such as friezes of wavelets and subjects relating to mythology. Heterogeneous brown/black patina, chips.
The Dogon are a people renowned for their cosmogony, their esotericism, their myths and legends. Their population is estimated at around 300,000 souls living in the southwest of the Niger bend in the Mopti region of Mali (Bandiagara, Koro, Banka), near Douentza and part of northern Burkina (northwest of Ouahigouya). The Dogon blacksmith artisans, forming an endogamous caste called irim, today produce weapons, tools, and also work wood. ...


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280.00

Holo Panel
African art > Used objects, pulleys, boxes, loom, awale > Holo Panel

This type of carved panel was intended for the nzaambi affliction cults, also practiced by the Yaka, rituals that made it possible to treat a problem whose source had been established through divinatory practices. While the Holo 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 coated by the person concerned. Discreetly two-tone patina. Scattered abrasions and cracks. Located in the Democratic Republic of Congo between the Yaka and the Tchokwé of Angola, the small Holo ethnic group migrated from the Angolan coast to settle near the banks of the Kwango. Hunting and agriculture ensure their subsistence. Neighboring ethnic groups, such as the Suku, have ...


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180.00

Dogon Statuette
African art > African statues : tribal fetish, maternity > Dogon Statuette

Mostly sculpted to order by a family and in this case placed on the Tiré Kabou family altar, Dogon tribal statues can also be the object of worship by the entire community when they commemorate, for example, the founding of the village. These statues, sometimes embodying the nyama of the deceased, are placed on ancestor altars and participate in various rituals including those of the sowing and harvesting periods. However, their functions remain little known. In parallel with Islam, Dogon religious rites are organized around four main cults: the Lébé, relating to fertility, under the spiritual authority of the Hogon, the Wagem, ancestor worship under the authority of the patriarch, the Binou invoking the spirit world and led by the priest of the Binou, and the society of masks ...


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180.00

Ndengese rattle
African art > Used objects, pulleys, boxes, loom, awale > Ndengese rattle

Ritual rattle which was used in divination ceremonies. Satin black patina. A people from Central Africa established in Kasai, neighboring the Kuba, the Ndengese, Dengese, form one of the clans descended from a common Mongo ancestor, some of them they being from the Upper Nile. They produced primitive art statues with absent or truncated lower limbs, covered with graphic symbols, symbolizing the prestige of the leader, called "Isikimanji". The flared hairstyle, often topped with a horn at the top, 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. Ref.: “Treasures of Africa” Tervuren Museum.


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240.00

Margui knife
African art > Coins in bronze, black iron and other materials > Margui knife

These iron blades were used as currency but also for offerings, wedding dowries and of course for major festive and ceremonial occasions. The Kirdi or "pagans", as they were called by Islamized peoples, are a population of Central Africa, mainly present in the far north of Cameroon, also in Nigeria. The Kirdi include the Matakam, Kapsiki, Margui, Mofou, Massa, Toupouri, Fali, Namchi, Bata, Do ayo... Before the colonial period, transactions were made using cowries, pearls, cattle, kola nuts, but especially metals, especially iron. These primitive currencies were used in commercial and social exchanges, especially for dowries, but could also be parade objects or throwing weapons.


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200.00

Kumu masker
African art > African mask, tribal art, primitive art > Kumu masker

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 ...


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160.00

Ngbandi Mask
African art > African mask, tribal art, primitive art > Ngbandi Mask

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 ...


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160.00

Mbole
African art > African mask, tribal art, primitive art > Mbole

The African mask Mbole comes into play during the funeral of Lilwa dignitaries or is used by the blacksmith during circumcision rituals. The eyes and mouth are cut into the flat surface, the forehead and nose forming a slight relief. Polychrome matte patina.
Height on base: 44 cm.
The province of Lualaba had several close ethnic groups with similar associations. The Mbole and the Yela are known for their statues embodying, according to D. Biebuck, hanged men, named ofika. The lilwa, an association with dogmatic initiation rites, used to judge and sentence to hanging those guilty of breaches of the imposed rules, which however remained exceptional. These offenses ranged from murder to adultery to breaking the secrecy surrounding the lilwa. Dishonored, the bodies of the condemned ...


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160.00