African Arts Gallery

Belgian collection of African art Small, carefully carved charm, depicting a subject with a headdress and dressed in skin. Marks of use and cracks.
The Lele , close to the Tschokwe and the Pende, live in the west of the Kuba kingdom and share common cultural specificities with the Bushoong of the Kuba country. Both groups decorate their prestige objects with similar motifs. Their society, led by a king " nymi ", comprises three classes, that of the Tundu or war chiefs, the Batshwa ("those who reject Tundu authority") and the Wongo named after the neighboring ethnic group. The ritual ceremonies are under the authority of the oldest, chiefs of each village who hold the secrets of medicinal plants. These elders once formed, with the parents of twins, spiritual intermediaries, ...

Female statuette in a crouching posture on a circular base. The hollowed-out top of the head was intended for a magical charge. Missing, matte grainy patina. br /> Formerly subject to the Luba, then to the Lundas, the Zela adopted a large part of their uses and traditions. Established between the Luvua River and Lake Kisalé, they are today organized into four chiefdoms under the supervision of leaders of Luba origin. They venerate a primordial couple frequently represented in statuary, mythical ancestors, and make offerings to the spirits of nature. Ref. : “Luba” 5 Continents. Rooberts; “Kifwebe” F. Neyt, ed. 5Continents.

British Traditional African Art Collection.
Among the wide range of Songye sculptures, details distinguish this Songye statuette such as the horn inserted into the head at the tip, and the tiny metal crown at the top. The magic power of the bankishi, (sing. Nkishi) is supposed to be reinforced thanks to the addition of accessories, talismans, metallic elements, seeds, shells. The abdominal cavity is filled with a magical charge that can be made up of therapeutic ingredients. Glossy patina, desication cracks.
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 which they are related through common ancestors.
Very ...

Borrowing the traditional posture of Songye fetishes, this Nkishi statuette however differs in its morphology. The “bishimba” charge would be housed at the top. Glossy patina. Desiccation cracks, gaps.
The Songye fetish, magical sculpture Nkisi , nkishi (pl. mankishi), plays among the Songye the role of mediator between gods and men. The large examples are the collective property of an entire village, the smaller figures belonging to an individual or a family. In the 16th century, the Songyes migrated from the Shaba region to settle in Kasai, Katanga and South Kivu. 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 ...

Ex-French collection of African art Deprived of the summit horn, this African statuette Nkisi, nkishi (pl. mankishi ) offers a face with the features of traditional bifwebe masks. Satin patina. Erosions.
The Nkisi plays the role of mediator between gods and men. Large examples are the collective property of an entire village, the most modest belong to an individual or a family. 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 manner. 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 ...

French collection of African tribal art
Moba works are easily identifiable thanks to the minimalist aspect of a summary size. The reduced works were intended for the family altar. The yendu tchitcheri measuring less than 25 cm serve as a personal talisman.
Only the sons of diviners were authorized to sculpt this protective effigy. The Tchitcheri sakwa (pl. of Tchicherik) represent an ancestor symbolized, founder of the clan, by a human body with an abstract face.
It was initially planted in the ground.
It is supposed to increase the magical power of the family or community altar.
Litt.: "The soul of Africa", S. Diakonoff.; "Africa" ​​Ed. Prestel.

French African art collection
This female bust, which embodies a spiritual medium, has a flat face bordered by a tiara and an ample concave circular headdress. Therapeutic and magical substances were placed in the cupule at the top. The attitude, hands on breasts, indicates that the secrets of royalty (the bizila) belong to women thanks to their role as political and spiritual intermediaries. Satin black patina. Lack.
The Luba (Baluba in Chiluba) are a people of Central Africa. Their cradle is Katanga, more precisely the region of the Lubu river, thus 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 ...

This figurative fetish statuette is said to be a divinatory fetish object. It would be of Tussia origin, Senoufo sub-group of Burkina-Faso. Irregular greenish-grey granular patina
. The Senoufos, the name given to them by the French colonists, are mainly composed of farmers who are scattered between Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso. Councils of elders, led by an elected chief, administer Senufo villages. Governed by matrilineal traditions, they are composed of clusters of dwellings named katiolo. Each has its own Poro association that initiates young boys from the age of seven in a succession of three cycles lasting seven years . They gather in a sacred enclosure called sinzanga located near the village, among the trees. Upon the death of one of the Poro members, ...

The Nkishi figures are renowned for their singular plasticity characterized by sometimes outrageous deformations. Devoid of ritual accessories, this sculpture is carved according to traditional Songye criteria. Satin black patina. Desication crack, abrasions, small chips.
The Songye fetish, magic sculpture Nkisi, nkishi (pl. mankishi), plays among the Songye the role of mediator between gods and men. The large specimens are the collective property of an entire village, the smaller figures belonging to an individual or a family. In the 16th century, the Songyes migrated from the Shaba region to settle in Kasai, Katanga and South Kivu. Their society is organized in a patriarchal way. Their history is inseparable from that of the Luba, to whom they are related through common ...

In addition to their weapons, prestige objects and funerary sculpture, the Sundi used, individually and collectively, conjuration fetishes often equipped with a magical charge. The latter forms an agglomerate of disparate materials on the subject's back, extended by a sausage of cloth around the kidneys. Smooth marbled patina, blackish residues. Desiccation cracks. The Vili, the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembé, 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 statuary with a codified gesture related to their vision of the world.

African Art from Cameroon.
This African doll of fertility Ham pilu symbolizes the marriage vows and the child that will be born from this union. It is the fiancé who makes it and decorates it with multiple trinkets before offering it to the young woman, pearls, leather talismans, etc... The Kirdi , or "pagans", as the Islamized peoples have called them, are established in the far north of Cameroon, on the border with Nigeria.
They include the Matakam, Kapsiki, Margui, Mofou, Massa, Toupouri, Fali, Namchi, Bata, Do ayo... They live from agriculture, fishing and animal husbandry.
Among the Fali, ancestor worship is illustrated by the great importance given to the skulls of the deceased, because thought and knowledge resided there.
The use of dolls by young African ...

Anthropomorphic sculpture depicted seated in a dynamic posture. The voluminous bust is framed by a tiny head, stumps of arms and spread bent legs. The limbs are made of metal, the whole is wrapped in string.
The group of animist Kirdi peoples, or "pagans", as the Islamized peoples have named them, are established in the far north of Cameroon, on the border with Nigeria. They include the Matakam, Kapsiki, Margui, Mofou, Massa, Toupouri, Fali, Namchi, Bata, Do ayo... They live from agriculture, fishing and livestock breeding. Among the Fali, ancestor worship is illustrated by the great importance given to the skulls of the deceased, because thought and knowledge resided there.

French collection of African art
"Gri-gri" statuette covered in leather and decorated with glass beads.
Despite their small number, the thirty thousand Mambila (or Mambilla, Mambere, Nor, Torbi, Lagubi, Tagbo, Tongbo, Bang, Ble, Juli, Bea) (the "men" in Fulani), settled in the northwest of Cameroon, on both sides of the border of Cameroon and Nigeria, have created a large number of masks and statues easily identifiable by their heart-shaped faces. Although the Mambila believe in a creator god named Chang or Nama, they only worship their ancestors. Their chiefs were buried in granaries like wheat because they were supposed to symbolize prosperity. The Mambila are farmers and mainly grow coffee. Their masks and statues were not to be seen by women.

French collection of tribal art
African doll of fertility embodying the aspirations for marriage and the birth of the child. It is the fiancé who takes the initiative to make it and embellish it with various ornaments before presenting it to his future wife. This example is distinguished by its hairstyle and long braids. The Kirdi, also called "pagans" by Islamized peoples, live in the far north of Cameroon, on the border with Nigeria. This community includes the Matakam, Kapsiki, Margui, Mofou, Massa, Toupouri, Fali, Namchi, Bata, Do ayo, and others, who live mainly from agriculture, fishing and livestock breeding.

A faceted face with a protruding chin, offering the traditional striations punctuating the nasal bridge, and a small figure with truncated arms, separated from the crater bust carried by ringed legs. Oiled patina, nuanced, reddish brown.
The many carved objects are, among the Ngandi, related to hunting and magic. Some represent the Ngbirondo spirit and act as guardians of the village.
Funerary statues were also used, and sculptures of couple yangba and his sister, equivalent to the Seto and Nabo ancestors of the Ngbaka.

The Ngbaka form a homogeneous people in the north-west of the DRC, south of Ubangui. The Ngbandi live in the east (on the left bank of the Oubangui) and the Ngombe in the south. The initiation of young people, "gaza" or "ganza" (which gives ...

African statuette Nkisi, nkishi (pl. mankishi) of the Songye whose face reproduces the kifwebe mask. Satin patina. Sculpture of balanced proportions, combining curved volumes and angular planes. Brown satin patina.
The Nkisi plays the role of mediator between god and men, responsible, among the Songye, for protecting against various evils. The large specimens are the collective property of an entire village, and the smaller figures belong to an individual or a family. 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. (ref.: Treasures of Africa, Museum of Tervuren, ed. De ...

Former Belgian collection of African art.
The Kusu are established on the left bank of the Lualaba between the Bembe, Boyo, Hemba, Songye and Tetela. They have borrowed the artistic traditions of the Luba and the Hemba, including the cult of ancestors and that of mythical heroes, and have a caste system similar to that of the Luba. The primordial ancestor, named Soba, is said to be embodied in the sculpted figures of the Kusu. Their initiatory society, the bagabo, also uses protective fetishes against witchcraft. Lustrous brown patina. Residual kaolin incrustations.

Belgian collection of African tribal art. Property of the soothsayer komienfoué, often involved in the divinatory practices of the Mbra, this ancient, crudely sketched sculpture embodies a assié oussou, a "genius of nature" in Baoulé statuary.
Desiccation cracks. Ritual flaked patina.
Around sixty ethnic groups populate Ivory Coast, including the Baoulé, in the center, Akans from Ghana, a people of the savannah, practicing hunting and agriculture just like the Gouro from whose religions and masks they borrowed. Two types of statues are produced by the Baoulé in the ritual context: The Waka-Sona statues, "being of wood" in Baoulé, evoke a sassié oussou, being of the earth. They are part of a type of statue intended to be used as a medium tool by Komian diviners, the ...

Ex-French collection of African art Among the Luluwa, Lulua, or even Béna Lulua, various types of African statues presenting multiple scarifications, glorify local chiefs, motherhood, fertility and the female figure. This interesting version with a magical charge was also sculpted among the Luba of Kasai. This type of statuette depends on the Buanga bua cibola cult with the aim of protecting children and pregnant women. The subject has an umbilical hernia, the abdomen being the center of the body and "object of all concerns" (The power of the sacred, M. Faïk-Nzuji) Very slightly abraded dark brown patina.
It is in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo that the Lulua, or Béna Lulua, from West Africa, settled . Their social structure, based on castes, is similar to that of ...

Rare African feminine fetish statue of the Songye, with a protective purpose. The arms are classically positioned around a protruding abdomen.  The particularity of these fascinating tribal figures lies mostly in the angular treatment of the form, the imposing triangular face that sometimes takes up the features of the African mask kifwebe, the rictus formed by the mouth, and the attitude deported forward of the bulging belly. Shiny patina, abrasions and cracks.
These protective fetishes for homes are among the most prized in Africa. The Nkisi plays the role of mediator between god and men, responsible for protecting against various evils. The large ones are the collective property of a whole village, and the smaller ones belong to an individual or a family. In the ...

French collection of French African art.
Rare fetish statuette associated with the large snake mask of the Baga groups. Abraded patina of use. Slight drying cracks.
The initiatory African mask, serpentiform, used mainly by the Bulongic (village of Kifinda), Baga subgroup of the Guinean coast, can measure up to 2.50 m. These masks were divided into two groups with the names Mosolo kombo and Sangaran, each with specific functions. Their design took shape in an esoteric context, at night in the heart of the forest. Privileges of initiated men, embodying a spiritual entity, Baga Sangaran masks were only present at circumcision, every 24 years according to ethnologist Denise Paulme. During certain dances the mask was placed on the head, held in balance by a bamboo structure and by ...