African Arts Gallery

Ex-Belgian collection of African tribal art African headrests come in an almost infinite variety: this type of African neckrest has a lustrous dark patina. This headrest was probably made by the Sidama or Gurage of southern and southwest Ethiopia. The latter are part of the eighty ethnic groups in Ethiopia having produced different neckrests for individual use called yagerteras, or "pillows of my country" or even "Boraati" ("tomorrow you") .
Erosions and desiccation cracks. Over time, the creation becoming more complex until they became true little masterpieces of sculpture, they also became individual objects of prestige and power, placed on family or collective altars. These objects were initially intended to protect the elaborate hairstyles of their owner (man or woman) ...

Turkana neckrest from Kenya established on a circular base, decorated with a braided handle and endowed with a deep lustrous golden mahogany patina. Its sufficiently wide tray also made it possible to sit down. Although it comes from traditional African art, its refined shapes give it a contemporary design.
These objects were initially intended to protect the elaborate hairstyles of their owner (man or woman) during the night. But among the Turkana, it is the emblem of the tenderness of the fiancé for his bride, a pledge of union in the same way as an engagement ring.
Over time, the creation 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.
Desiccation ...

Among the ritual charms of matrilineal leaders and heads of families, this type of neck support named musaw or m-baambu, makes part of African tribal art objects related to prestige. These dignitaries, who kept them in their bedrooms, sought to preserve their sophisticated headdresses.
Some of these sculptures had magical charges inserted into discreet cavities.
Satin honey patina, small accidents.
Hierarchical and authoritarian, made up of formidable warriors, Yaka society was governed by lineage leaders with the right to life and death over their subjects. Hunting and the prestige that results from it are nowadays an opportunity for the Yaka to invoke the ancestors and to resort to rituals using charms linked to the "khosi" institution. The youth initiation society is ...

African headrest, an element of African furniture which, in addition to being used in a ritual context, preserves the voluminous traditional headdresses of its owners. This neckrest stands out thanks to its animal motif, its smooth and shiny patina, and the insertion of upholstery nails. The Chokwe and their neighbors in Angola produced various seats and headrests with zoomorphic designs for dignitaries. Desiccation 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. However, the Chokwé never fully adopted these new social and political contributions. Three centuries later, they ended up seizing the capital of the Lunda, ...

Among the elements of traditional East African furniture, this type of African neckrest is carved in a refined manner according to the criteria in use. Its architecture and sobriety give it, although it comes from traditional African art, a contemporary design.
More than eighty ethnic groups in Ethiopia have produced different neck supports for individual use called yagerteras, or "pillows of my country" or even "Boraati" ("tomorrow you").
Over time, the creation becoming more complex until they became true little masterpieces of sculpture, they also became individual objects of prestige and power, placed on family or collective altars. These objects were initially intended to protect the elaborate hairstyles of their owner (man or woman) during the night. But among the ...

This type of African headrest decorated with a carved janiform motif, was the attribute of lineage heads. Matte orange-brown patina, cracks.
Hierarchical and authoritarian, composed of formidable warriors, Yaka society was governed by lineage leaders with the right of life and death over their subjects. Hunting and the prestige that results from it are an opportunity today for the Yaka to invoke their ancestors and to use 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 with the aim of to ensure a vigorous lineage. Devoting a special cult to twins, the Bayaka (Sing. Yaka) also use janiform statues called yikubu ...

Headrest with female caryatid motif of Luba or Zela origin. The posture of the character has, among the Lubas, a particular symbolism, the genitals being in contact with the earth. Sculpture from the Luba and related groups depicts the woman and her connection to royalty and the bavidye spirits. Orange-brown patina.
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.

A caryatid figure supports the narrow top of this neckrest. The subject wears a songye kikashi mask, still used today. This type of mask is worn during initiations with a long costume and a beard made of natural fibers. Used as a pillow to preserve the user's hair arrangements, the African neckrest forms a tribal object decorated with different iconographies which embody the associated spiritual forces.

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

This backrest offering numerous patterns represents an ancestor of the clan. The flared hairstyle, often topped with a horn, 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. Numerous scarifications are traced all over the body. Glossy brown patina. Abrasions from use, cracks from desiccation.
A people from Central Africa established in Kasai, neighboring the Kuba, the Ndengese form one of the clans descended from a common Mongo ancestor, some of them being originally of the Upper Nile. The Nkutschu are related to the Ndengese. The latter produced statues with absent or truncated lower limbs, covered with graphic symbols, symbolizing the prestige of ...

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 ...

A prestigious object aimed at enhancing the status of its user, an expression of traditional African art, this monoxyle headrest or even "dream support", constitutes, for the tribes of Kenya and Uganda, a pillow to preserve elaborate headdresses during sleep. It was also used as a stool. Among the Turkana, they are offered to the future wife as a wedding vow, and returned to the man in case of refusal. Among the Pokot established in the region from Lake Turkana to Lake Baringo, it is the present which marks the ceremonies of the passage to adulthood or even a reward for a victory during a conflict.
Headrests frequently take the stylized form of an animal, cattle being of utmost importance to the pastoralist tribes of East Africa. This example, standing on three outward curved ...

Three legs support the rectangular top of this African headrest decorated with two similar busts. The glossy wood tray is of a mahogany tone while the statuettes adopt a dark patina. Very slight erosion. Tribe of the Tabwa group, the Rungu are established in a region between the D.R.C. (Democratic Republic of Congo), Zambia and Tanzania. Under the influence of the neighboring Lubas and Bemba, the Rungu produced prestigious objects for dignitaries, stools, combs, spoons and scepters, frequently decorated with figures of couples or twins. Their king, called mwéné tafuna , lives in Zambia. A women's association, Kamanya , has dolls like those of the Tabwas.

Within the figurative sculpture of the Kuba, the prestigious objects held by members of the Kuba royal family and the peripheral groups, Bushoong and Dengese, are richly decorated with engraved motifs. The same geometric patterns adorn objects for individual use, such as this kuba-type headrest. Light patina.
Desication cracks, small accidents.
The Kuba kingdom 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. More than twenty types of tribal masks are used among the Kuba or "lightning people", with meanings and functions that vary from group to group. Ritual ceremonies were an opportunity to exhibit decorative arts and masks, in order to honor the spirit of the deceased or to honor ...

Prestigious African sculpture aimed at enhancing the status of its user, an expression of African art, this headrest monoxyle or even "support of dream" constitutes, for the tribes of Kenya and Uganda, a pillow to preserve, during sleep, the elaborate headdresses. Among the Turkana, they are offered to the future wife as a wedding vow, and returned to the man in case of refusal. Among the Pokot established in the region from Lake Turkana to Lake Baringo, it is the present which marks the ceremonies of the passage to adulthood or even a reward for a victory during a conflict.
Headrests frequently take the stylized form of an animal, cattle being of utmost importance to the pastoralist tribes of East Africa. Smooth patina. Cracks and minor abrasions.

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.

Baraldi African Art Collection
A personal object intended to preserve the elaborate headdress, usually the crest, the role of the headrest was not only utilitarian. The head of the Dogon's spiritual leader, the Hogon, was never to touch the ground, otherwise there would be disastrous consequences.
The middle part of this beautiful object with its pure lines features a bird's beak, a volatile bird frequently represented on Dogon African artworks: while it is true that hens and guinea fowls make up the Dogon farmyard, Dogon mythology holds the duck for a member of the Hogon family. Two small triangles carved in the shape of a beak also decorate each end of the flat of the seat. The whole presents ornamental motifs such as parallel, crossed lines and triangular champlevé notches. ...

Harmony of curves for this long zoomorphic neckrest featuring a quadruped, owned by a Harmony collector of curves for this long zoomorphic neck rest rest by a quadruped, owned by an Italian collector of African art. The sculptor departed from the realism of the proportions, these having probably been designed for the purpose of stability, the curvature of the back acting as a headrest. The latter presents a satin patina resulting from repeated contact, as opposed to the dullness of the rest of the object. Still trimmed with his canvas shoulder strap attached to the animal's neck and tail and enhanced by two cauris, it was carried by its owner during his travels. The tail is punctuated with regular openings where cotton strands have been knotted. This type of piece was also used during the ...