African Arts Gallery

Maternity figure supporting the flat part of a headrest. Indicator of the prestige of its owner, this African object invokes the protection of the ancestors. Smooth and lustrous patina, cracks, minor erosions.
Peacefully settled in eastern Angola until the 16th century, the Chokwé were then subjected to the Lunda empire from which they inherited a new hierarchical system and the sacredness of power. Nevertheless, the Chokwé never fully adopted these new social and political contributions. 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 chiefdoms. They were the ones who attracted artists wishing to put their know-how ...

"Pillow" Gurage, massive and stable, adorned with ridged walls, which was used inside dwellings but which was also carried in ceremonies. Among the elements of traditional African furniture, this type of neckrest has a smooth and shiny patina. More than eighty ethnic groups in Ethiopia have produced different headrests for individual use called yagerteras, or “my country pillows” or “Boraati” (“tomorrow you”).
Small chips, desiccation crack.
The objects were originally intended to protect the elaborate hairstyles of their owner (male or female) during the night. But among the Turkana, for example, it is the emblem of the groom's tenderness for his bride, a pledge of union in the same way as an engagement ring.

TheLuba are renowned for their statuary and in particular their neckrests and stools made up of a caryatid figure and sometimes an animal motif, the duiker as here.
In this case it is a female figure, embodiment of royalty and the spirit of the ancestors, riding the animal. Antelope horns were used, laden with magical ingredients, in therapeutic rites.
Neckrests were also used to support the heads of the deceased, and sometimes, according to Albert Maesen, buried in their place. Greyish light brown patina. Slight cracks.
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 ...

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. Nuanced brown patina, abrasions and slight chips.
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 Luba are renowned for their statuary and in particular their neck rests and stools consisting of a caryatid figure and sometimes an animal motif, the antelope in this case.
In this case it is a female figure, incarnation of royalty and the spirit of the ancestors, riding the animal. The antelope horns were also used, loaded with magical ingredients, in therapeutic rites.
The horn rests were also used to support the heads of the deceased, and sometimes, according to Albert Maesen, buried in their place. Matt patina.
The Luba (Baluba in Tchiluba) 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, ...

This type of neck rest named musaw or m-baambu, is among the African tribal art objects incorporating the ritual charms of matrilineal officials and family heads. The latter, who kept them in their bedrooms, sought to preserve their sophisticated tribal headdresses.
Some of these carvings had magical charges inserted into discrete cavities.
Abraded brown patina.
Hierarchical and authoritarian, composed of formidable warriors, Yaka society was governed by lineage chiefs with the right of life and death over their subjects. The hunt and the prestige that comes with it are the occasion today for the Yaka to invoke the ancestors and to resort to rituals using charms linked to the "khosi" institution. The youth initiation society is the n-khanda, which is found ...

Kenyan turkana headrest with a beautiful smooth mahogany patina, decorated with metal elements, and rising from a spherical base. Although belonging to traditional African art, its clean forms give it a contemporary design.
These objects were originally intended to protect the elaborate hairstyles of their owner (male or female) during the night. But among the Turkana, it is the emblem of the groom's tenderness for his bride, a pledge of union in the same way as an engagement ring.
Over time, the realization becoming more complex until they became real little masterpieces of sculpture, they also became individual objects of prestige and power, placed on family or collective altars.
Small crashes.

Established on thick bent legs resting on large feet, this sculpture has a smooth, satiny, orange surface. Used as a pillow in order to preserve the capillary arrangements of the user, the African neckrest forms a tribal object decorated with various iconographies. These are related to spiritual forces believed to influence dreams. Large feet are said to symbolize territorial possession.

The Songye came from the Shaba region in the DRC and settled between the Lualaba River and the Sankuru River in the middle of savannah and forests. They are governed by the yakitenge and by local chiefs. The Bwadi secret society, however, counterbalances their power. Their male masks, with occult powers, were exhibited during punitive and disciplinary expeditions. Their appearances remained in ...

An emblematic head of the kifwebe mask, sculpted with skill, supports the top of this neckrest. This type of mask, linked to the Bwadi Bwa Kifwebe society, is worn during initiations with a long costume and a beard made of natural fibers. Used as a pillow to preserve the user's capillary arrangements, the African neckrest forms a tribal object adorned with different iconographies embodying spiritual forces believed to influence dreams.

Shiny patina, desication cracks.
The Songye came from the Shaba region in the DRC and settled between the Lualaba River and the Sankuru River in the middle of savannah and forests. They are governed by the yakitenge and by local chiefs. The Bwadi secret society, however, counterbalances their power. Their male masks, with occult powers, were ...

African tribal sculpture, a piece of African furniture intended, in addition to use in a ritual context, to preserve the voluminous traditional headdresses of its owners. This neck rest is distinguished by its animal motif and smooth golden brown patina. The Chokwe and their neighbors in Angola produced a variety of seats and headrests with zoomorphic motifs for dignitaries. Abrasions.
Peacefully settled in eastern Angola until the 16th 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 ...

African tribal sculpture, element of African furniture to preserve the voluminous traditional headdresses, it is distinguished by its animal motif and orange patina.

Peacefully settled in eastern Angola until the 16th 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 contributing to the dismantling of the kingdom. The Chokwe did not have a centralized power but rather large chiefdoms. It was these chieftainships that attracted artists who wished to put ...

Headrest whose motif depicts a couple associated with the primordial ancestors. The posture, genitals in contact with the ground, would offer a precise symbolism for the Lubas. Sculpture from Luba and related groups frequently depicts women and their connection to royalty and bavidye spirits. Brown satin patina, cracks.
Formerly subject to the Luba, then to the Lundas, the Zela, Muzela, or Wazela, have adopted a large part of their customs 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 dedicate offerings to the spirits of nature.

The Luba are famous in particular for their neckrests and stools made of a caryatid figure. Neckrests protecting headdresses during the night were also used to support the heads of the deceased, and sometimes, according to Albert Maesen, buried in their place. These female figures embodying the spirit of an ancestor, vidiye, seated face to face, intertwined, form the "receptacle of a deceased sovereign chief" (Luba, Roberts). Beautiful lustrous 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 ...

Refined markha-type neck support, the faces reminiscent of their initiatory masks. It rests on two legs, including a slatted panel carved with miniature subjects. Symbolic patterns are traced on the tablet.
The Markha are organized into structured and hierarchical mask societies like those found in many other ethnic groups. They have an initiatory language, a means of communication in the hands of initiates. The Markha, also called Warka, live in the north of Bambara territory and have therefore been influenced by them, particularly in the design of their masks. Like the Bambara and the Bozo, they have the particularity of adorning their statuary with brass plates incised with motifs. Their puppets are also renowned. Besides the points of similarity between Markha and Bambara art, ...

Prestigious sculpture of the Kongo, this piece of furniture is formed of a figure of a Caryatid couple incarnating the ancestors of the clan, whose back bears diamond-shaped scarification. The child on the woman's lap would evoke the matrilineal transmission of power. The Yombe decorated their textiles, mats and loincloths with lozenges in relation to proverbs glorifying work and social unity. The mouth reveals traditionally filed teeth, the eyes are whitened, underlining the ancestors' ability to discern occult things. Satin orange-brown patina. Abrasions and cracks.
Clan of the Kongo group, the Yombe are established on the West African coast, in the southwest of the Republic of Congo and in Angola. Their statuary includes remarkable maternity wards.
In the ...

Headrest with elegant curved shapes, two-tone satin patina, cracks and abrasions.
During the 19th century, tribes united to form the group called Zulu, whose local chiefs, led by the king, are called iduma. Their society is that of warriors organized into age groups. It was in 1884 that they were annexed by the English. Skilled in making ornaments, the Zulus work with leather, metal and ceramics, adding feathers and beads.

Prestigious Zula, Zuri, Wazula type neckrest, also called Luba-Maniema, established in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the north of the Luba territory.
Garnet brown glossy patina, small accidents.
An iconoclastic raid, under the influence of Islamic occupants, caused most of the ritual sculptures of the Zula to disappear. The latter nevertheless safeguarded the worship of the ancestors, the worship devoted to the Alunga spirit, and perpetuated the use of offerings to the spirits of nature.
Zula society, divided into castes, has its origins in the Luba. The Zulas became associated with the Arabs (Tippo Tip) during the 19th century in the ivory and slave trade.

Within the figurative sculpture of the Kuba, the prestigious objects held by the members of the Kuba royal family and the peripheral groups, Bushoong and Dengese, are always decorated with engraved patterns, parallel lines, intersecting, and checkerboards. The same geometric patterns, however, adorn objects for individual use, such as this headrest with a cephalomorphic pattern. Satin nuanced brown patina.
The Kuba kingdom was founded in the 16th century by the main Bushoong tribe which is still ruled by a king today, and whose capital was Nshyeeng or Mushenge. More than twenty types of tribal masks are used among the Kuba or "lightning people". The Kuba are renowned for the refinement of prestige items created for members of the high ranks of their society. Several Kuba ...

Ex Belgian collection of African art. Some neck rests, like this one, have been waxed by their owner, others not.
The Luba are renowned for their statuary and in particular their neckrests and stools made up of a caryatid figure and sometimes an animal motif, the cephalophe as here. In this case it is a female figure, incarnation of royalty and the spirit of the ancestors, riding the animal. Antelope horns were used, loaded with magical ingredients, in therapeutic rites. Neck rests were also used to support the heads of the deceased, and sometimes, according to Albert Maesen, buried in their place. Greyish brown matte patina. The Luba (Baluba in Tchiluba) are a people of Central Africa. Their cradle is Katanga, more precisely the region of the Lubu river, hence the name ...

African art among Turkana
This is an East African population living mainly in northwestern Kenya in a hot, arid region west of Lake Turkana, but also in Ethiopia and to a lesser extent in South Sudan.

The East African neck-ends are famous and prized for their stripped-down or minimalist aesthetics. The clean lines allow you to appreciate the overall shape as well as the simple but remarkable details.
The piece consists of three parts: on the one hand, half a sphere constituting the base is equipped with nails to ensure stability. A simple vertical mount supports the circular seat. The latter is dug with two concavities on the outline.
The patina is reddish.

Emile's grandfather, Abel Robyn, debuted the collection in 1850.
It was passed down ...

Within the figurative sculpture of the Kuba, the prestigious objects held by members of the Kuba royal family and peripheral groups, Bushoong and Dengese, are always decorated with engraved patterns, parallel lines , criss-cross, and checkered. The same geometric patterns also adorn the diviner's accessories such as this divination instrument accompanied by its pusher. These tools, used to solve various problems, take up animal motifs associated with ngesh (spirits of nature) but also human motifs referring to ancestors and masks. Satin nuanced brown patina.
The Kuba kingdom or "lightning people" was founded in the 16th century by the main tribe Bushoong which is still ruled today by a king, and whose capital was Nshyeeng or Mushenge. The Lele are established in the west of ...