African Arts Gallery

Realistic Kongo type sculpture named Phemba or Pfemba. This is the ancestor of the clan, a mediating female figure. The infant would embody the matrilineal transmission of power. Scarifications dot the back of the mother. The Yombe indeed adorned their textiles, mats and loincloths, with diamonds related to proverbs glorifying work and social unity. The glazed look symbolizes clairvoyance. Smooth black patina with garnet reflections. Erosions.

Clan of the Kongo group, the Yombe are established on the west coast of Africa, in the south-west of the Republic of Congo and in Angola. Their statuary includes remarkable maternities. The use of this type of sculpture remains unknown.
Sources: "the Kongo gesture" Ed. Dapper Museum; "Treasures of Africa" Museum of Tervuren; "The ...

Seated female figure breastfeeding her child. The ringed neck, embellished with numerous necklaces, supports a haughty head, wearing a pointed bun, witness to his rank. Beaded belts also emphasize the subject's waist and ankles. The seat is of the royal Ashanti type. Black patina, indigenous restorations, small accidents, losses (base).
Named Pakhalla by the Dioula, the Koulango, Kulango, formed the Loron in the Voltaic territory. The Dagomba chiefs of the kingdom of Bouna would then have referred to them as "Koulam" (singular: koulango, subject, vassal). Their complex history has spawned an equally complex culture. It is between Burkina Faso and Comoé, in the northeast of Côte d'Ivoire, that their territory extends. Of an animist fetishist religion, they address their ...

Scarifications abound on the body and the face of this naturalist African statue whose child is carried on the hip. These "maternities" and statuettes were supposed to protect the child and his mother. Grainy matte patina.
The different types of Luluwa, Lulua, or even Béna Lulua statues, with multiple scarifications, glorify local chiefs, motherhood, fertility and the female figure. This sculptural art was subject to the influences of neighboring ethnic groups (Chokwe, Luba, Kuba, ...)
It is in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo that the Lulua, or Béna Lulua, settled from West Africa. Their social structure, based on caste, is similar to that of the Luba. They produced few masks, but mostly statues of ancestors representing the ideal warrior, mulalenga wa nkashaama, ...

This sculpture of African art Dogon, carved in dense wood, personifies a hermaphrodite ancestor of which a miniature replica represents the child. The posture of the subject differentiates this rare Dogon statue. Dry, matte and cracked patina.

These statues, sometimes embodying the nyama of the deceased, are placed on ancestor altars and take part in various rituals, including those of the sowing and harvesting periods.
According to Dogon cosmogony, the first primordial ancestors of Dogon, called Nommo, were the bisexual water gods. They were created in heaven by the creator god Amma and descended from heaven to earth in an ark.
The Nommo is said to have founded the eight lineages of Dogon and instilled weaving, the art of blacksmithing, and agriculture to their human ...

Sculpture featuring a young OviMbundu woman whose child is sucking on her breast. The face without eyes, whose forehead bears a single arabesque scarification, is hollowed out into a heart. As for the hairstyle, it evokes the one, fashioned with oil and red ochre, of young girls nyaneka following the efuko ritual.
This type of sculpture may have been associated with female initiation rituals, fertility, or divinatory rites.
Oiled patina with orange highlights, desiccation cracks.
. It is on the Benguéla plateau in Angola that the Ovimbudu , Ovimbundu , composed of farmers and herders, have been established for several centuries. Forming the largest ethnic group in Angola, they belong to the Bantu speakers, such as the Nyaneka , Handa , Nkhumbi , and ...

Female statue carved into angular volumes, sitting on a four-legged stool. This African sculpture invoked for the purpose of fertility relates to the female ancestor. Worn on the head at women's funerals, these statues could be viewed by the public. Apart from the ceremonies, they remained under the care of the dean of women. Native restoration (metal staple). Desication erosions and cracks.
Carved for the most part on order placed by a family, Dogon statues can also be the object of worship on the part of the whole community when they commemorate, for example, the foundation of the village. However, their functions remain little known. Alongside Islam, Dogon religious rites are organized around four main cults: the Lébé, relating to fertility, under the spiritual authority of the ...

Polychrome naturalist statue of the Yoruba type. Communication with the afterlife rested on a maternal figure who embodied for the Yoruba people one of the many female goddesses, the goddess of the earth Onilé ("owner of the House"), guarantor of longevity, peace, and resources, and linked to the powerful Ogboni society among the Yoruba Egba and Ijebu. She could also embody Orunmila, goddess of divination.
Intended to be enthroned on an altar, this type of sculpture was venerated by the members of the powerful Ogboni society, or Osugbo, responsible for justice.
Abraded crusty patina, desiccation cracks.
Centered on the veneration of its gods, or orisà, the Yoruba religion relies on artistic sculptures with coded messages (aroko). The kingdoms of Oyo and Ijebu arose ...

African tribal art Senoufo.
Embodying "the Old Mother" feeding the initiates of the Poro, the statue opposite has the distinctive signs of her rank. Polychrome patina, erosions.
br /> The Senoufos, the name given to them by French settlers, are mainly made up of farmers who have dispersed between Mali, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso. Senufo villages are made up of clusters of dwellings called katiolo. Each of them has its own Poro association which introduces 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. When one of the members of the Poro died, the statues called pombibele were exhibited. Although exclusively male, the Poro society in fact ...

Dogon African art.
Statue carved in light wood, depicting a female ancestor carrying miniature subjects on her knees, one of which has a beard.
Gray satin patina, cracks, abrasions.
The African tribal statues of the Dogon can be the object of worship on the part of the whole community when they commemorate, for example, the foundation of the village. These statues, sometimes embodying the nyama of the deceased, are placed on altars of ancestors and take part in various rituals, including those of the sowing and harvesting periods. However, their functions remain little known.

In the Kongo clans, this type of African effigy embodies the female ancestor of the clan, a mediating figure. The child would symbolize the matrilineal transmission of power. The Yombe decorated their textiles, mats and loincloths, with diamonds, in relief on the shoulders of the character. These motifs refer to proverbs glorifying work and social unity. Maternity figures were frequently carved atop chiefs' canes. Black patina. Desication cracks, erosions.
A clan of the Kongo group, the Yombe are established on the west coast of Africa, in the south-west of the Republic of Congo and in Angola. Their statuary includes remarkable maternities. The use of this type of sculpture remains unknown. Among the Kongo , the nganga was responsible for the rituals by activating a spiritual ...

Female figure associated with the mythical female ancestor, and which would intervene on human fertility and land fertility. The face forms a miniature replica of the powerful mask mukishi wa pwo nyi cijingo ca tangwa wearing the kambu ja tota. Chokwe and Their Bantu Neighbours Rodrigues de Areia.) golden clear patine. Shard on the mouth.
bred in Lunda, the Lwena , Luena, emigrated from Angola to Zaire in the 19th century, repelled by the Chokwe. When some became slave traders, others, the Lovale, found refuge in Zambia. Their society is matrilineal, exogamous and polygamous. The Lwena became known for their sculptures depicting figures of deceased ancestors and chiefs, and their masks related to the initiation rites of the mukanda . Their sculpture was largely influenced by that of ...

Sculpture related to the Hamba type of therapeutic cult, embodying a female ancestor, also the second wife of the mythical chief Chibinda Ilunga, who is associated with fertility and healing. These figures were arranged around the muyombo altar, a tree at the foot of which sacrifices and offerings were once performed. Also associated were carvings such as figures made in sticks or poles (Mbunji or mbanji ), planted in the ground. Related ethnic groups had this same type of altar, a witness before which rituals, oaths and important transactions were concluded.
The figure that also illustrates the second wife of the mythical chief Chibinda Ilunga sports a domed hairstyle like a helmet and metal ornaments.
Smooth patina, desiccation cracks.
Peacefully settled in eastern ...

Intended to be enthroned on an altar, this work of African art, by facilitating communication with the sacred, symbolically reminds the divinity of its duties towards men. It features the keloids of Yoruba nobles, distinctive markers of Yoruba tribal statuary. Spotted satin patina. Desication cracks.
The kingdoms of Oyo and Ijebu arose following the disappearance of the Ifé civilization and are still the basis of the political structure of the Yoruba . The Oyo created two cults centered on the Egungun and Sango societies, still active, who venerate their gods, the Orisa, through ceremonies call for masks, statuettes, scepters and divination supports.

The main Yoruba cults are the Gélédé, Epa, Ogboni cults, and the Esu cult, through which a very wide variety of ...

Treated in a naturalistic way, this African statue would embody one of the many female goddesses, like the goddess of the earth Onilé ("owner of the House"), guarantor of the longevity, peace, and resources, and linked to the powerful Ogboni society among the Yoruba Egba and Ijebu, or Orunmila, goddess of divination.
Intended to be enthroned on an altar, it was venerated by members of the powerful Ogboni, or Osugbo, society responsible for justice.
Thick partially chipped patina. Traces of colored pigments. erosions.

The kingdoms of Oyo and Ijebu arose following the disappearance of the Ifé civilization and are still the basis of the political structure of the Yoruba . Centered on the veneration of its gods, or orisà, the Yoruba religion relies on ...

The sculpted miniatures of the Kongo clans of northeastern Mayombe.
The small Kunyi group, surrounded by the Beembe, Yombe and Lumbu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is famous in African art for its miniature statuettes embodying founding ancestors or clan leaders, many of them being represented kneeling. This figurative female figure wears a headdress divided into three braided lobes, linear checkerboard keloids are inscribed on her face, and numerous bracelets adorn her wrists. The child she holds on her back offers exaggerated proportions.
Shiny orange dark brown patina, desiccation cracks and lack (child's foot).

Anthropomorphic sculpture coated with a glossy brown patina. Crack and abrasions.
The Luo, Kuria, Haya and Ziba, the Kéréwé, Karagwé, Sukuma and Nyamézi are established in the center west and the central region of Tanzania. The Nyamwezi, Nyamézi, ("people of the west" and sometimes "people of the moon") form the largest group among the tribes living in north central Tanzania. Coming from diverse origins, although sharing the same cultural specificities, their ritual and artistic production consequently presents very different formal aspects. The cult of ancestors and chiefs, of major importance within their culture, marked their statuary.

br-Probably the embodiment of a female goddess, this figure depicted sitting in a royal seat presents a child with his arms outstretched. Traditional keloid scars are carefully chiseled, jewelry indicates its status and braids collected in shells form a refined hairstyle. In front of the effigy, a container with decorative motifs engraved with contours and the hemmed edges of a textile pad sewn with cured, contained kaolin or other ointment for ritual use. These statues were kept on the altar olyo where sacrifices were made to the spirits. Crack restored on the base. Ocre grainy patina.

Two types of statues are produced by the Baoulé in the ritual framework: The Waka-Sona statues, be wooden in baoulé, evoke a silish oussou, being from the earth. They are part of a type of ...

The mother incarnating the ancestor of the clan is represented kneeling. The flared hairstyle, surmounted by a summit horn, forms a distinctive attribute of the hairstyles acquired by the Totshi chiefs belonging to the ikoho association and evokes particular proverbs. It symbolizes respect, intelligence and maturity. An intricate network of scarifications, corresponding to a symbolic graphic design, and others purely decorative, are inscribed in relief on the body. Velvety, matte, brown patina. Desication erosions and cracks.br />
People of Central Africa established in Kasaï, neighbor of the Kuba, the Ndengese or Dengese form one of the clans resulting from a common ancestor Mongo, some of them being from the Upper Nile. They produced primitive art statues with absent ...

African sculpture from the area around Dar-es-Salam, on the coast of Tanzania, where the Kaguru, Luguru, Kwéré, Zaramo and Doé tribes live. Carved in dense wood, this figure depicts a female figure carrying a child in her arms. The realistic features are slightly asymmetrical, the pupils deeply sunken, and the caps are pushed back. The protruding, disproportionate ears are cut obliquely. One arm of the child is missing. Matte patina of use, grainy residual encrustations, drippings from libations. Desication cracks.

African motherhood depicting a character carrying a child. The eyes are encrusted with pearls while large ears frame a neutral countenance. Rough patina, residual ocher encrustations.
This piece of tribal art comes from the northeastern region of Tanzania, bordering Kenya, facing the Indian Ocean, where the Paré, Shamba, Zigua, and Mbugu tribes live. A relative homogeneity characterizes the productions of these groups, recalling some of the Madagascans and Bataks with whom, via maritime trade, contact could once have been established. This sculpture was probably used for didactic purposes during male initiations. She could also embody an ancestor or a spirit. Lit. : "Black African Tribal Art" J.B. Bacquart.

Symbol of the mythical African ancestor likely associated with fertility cults, this figure of a woman wearing a miter features scarifications on the shoulders. These cuts, made with needles, knives and razors, were then coated with charcoal or ashes to accelerate healing and form salient patterns. The Yombe also adorned their textiles, mats and loincloths, with lozenges related to proverbs glorifying work and social unity. The infant would embody the matrilineal transmission of power.
Dark satin patina.
In the 13th century, the Kongo people, led by their king Ne Kongo, settled in a region at the crossroads of the borders between the current DRC, Angola and Gabon.
Clan of the Kongo group, the Yombe are established on the west coast of Africa, in the south-west of the ...