African Arts Gallery

Mipasi ancestor figure of African tribal art whose face bears the facial scarifications of the Batabwa clans. This prestigious object serves as a palm wine cup dedicated to ceremonial rites.
Smooth black patina, reddish reflections. Minor erosions.
In the South-East of the DRC, around Lake Tanganyika, simple farmers without centralized power, the Tabwa, federated around tribal chiefs after coming under the influence of the Luba. It was mainly during this period that their artistic current was expressed mainly through statues but also masks. The Tabwa practiced ancestor worship to which they dedicated some of their statues. Animists, their beliefs are anchored around the ngulu, spirits of nature present in plants and rocks.

This object called galukoshi, intended for divination ("Pende" Strother, ed. 5Continents, fig. 8), is made up of an assembly of articulated rods, the first of which is embellished with a face sculpted in the image of the masks of initiation. The whole is decorated with numerous feathers.
The western Pende live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the eastern people have settled on the banks of the Kasai downstream from Tshikapa. The influences of neighboring ethnic groups, Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salempasu imprinted on their large tribal art sculpture. Within this diversity, the Mbuya masks, realistic, produced every ten years, take on a festive function, and embody different characters that are difficult to differentiate without their costume, including the chief fumu or ...

This type of bell belonged to hunting masters to attract the attention of dogs or even to soothsayers. The sound produced by the sticks would appeal to the spirits. We find these objects in the Khimba initiation society or the lemba pacifying association. Among the Yombe, these bells with a figurative motif intended to communicate with the ancestors are called ndibu. Satin black patina.
The Vili, the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembe, 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 a statuary endowed with a codified gesture in relation to their vision of the world. Present along the ...

Everyday objects in African art.
A functional accessory for ritual ceremonies, this sculpted spoon offers a deep bowl in the shape of a cone extended by a flat, curved handle. Fine parallel streaks form intersecting patterns on the matte surface. Velvety patina, abrasions from use.
Height on base: 30 cm.
Disseminated in the Saharan region of Libya, Mali, Algeria and Niger, the Tuareg (sing.: Targui), or "Veiled Men", come from Berber pastors fleeing the Arabs in Libya in the 7th century. The targui blacksmith also carves wood, this being a rare material, the carved objects which are often repaired to prolong their use are part of the dowry.
Ref. : "Black Africa, 1" J. Anquetil.

The soothsayers of the western part of the Luba Empire used drumsticks to crush the kaolin mpemba stined at divination ceremonies. This cephalomorphic sculpture called lubuko features finely sculpted features under a shaving forehead and a hairstyle composed of multiple buns. The lower end forming a wider base is wrapped in skin surrounded by copper wire. Patina lustrous by gripping. Desication cracks.
The cups mboko, gourds containing the kaolin whose face of the soothsayer and initiates was coated, formed an image of purity and the spiritual world. These containers were used by different Luba societies, and groups of prophets, more generally by the psychics of the divination society Kilumbu, Bilumbu, or by the healers of the society Buhabo. The soothsayers Mbudye and the ...

Ex-collection of Belgian African art.

Small, meticulously sculpted figure, with large digitized hands placed in front of the bust, and under which a pastille indicates the umbilicus. The legs are fleshy, tight, and half bent. The face with stylized features appears meditative. Satin patina with granular residual incrustations. Established on the plateaus of the People's Republic of Congo (formerly Brazzaville), and not to be confused with the Bembé group north of Lake Tanganinyika, the small group Babembé, Béembé, was influenced by the Teke rites and culture, but especially by that of the Kongo. Settled in the current Republic of Congo, the Béembé originally formed the kingdom of the Kongo, with the Vili, Yombé, Bwendé and Woyo. They were under the tutelage of the king ntotela ...

A maternity figure pfemba , carved in the round, forms the handle of this prestigious flycatcher. The woman seated cross-legged, named phemba or pfemba, a symbol of the mythical ancestor, is likely associated with fertility cults. The child on her lap would embody the matrilineal transmission of power. Different faces adorn the middle section of the handle, while decorative motis are printed around the lower part. Lustrous black patina. The Solongo cultures of Angola and Yombe were largely influenced by the Kongo kingdom from which they borrowed naturalistic statuary and religious rituals by means of carved fetishes nkondo nkisi.
The Yombe are established on the West African coast in the southwestern Republic of the Congo and in Angola. Their statuary includes remarkable ...

In African art, headdresses, seats, arms, crowns, cups and drinking horns constitute a set of objects, the regalia, which surround the chiefs and accentuate their authority. Emblem of power and prestige, this fly swatter is surmounted by a singiti ancestor figure.

Dark brown lustrous patina.
The Hemba, established in the south-east of Zaire, on the right bank of the Lualaba, were for a long time subject to the neighboring Luba empire, which had a definite influence on their culture. Ancestor worship, whose effigies have long been attributed to the Luba, is central to Hemba society. All aspects of the community are imbued with the authority of the ancestors. Thus, these are considered to have an influence on justice, medicine, law and sacrifices. The singiti statues were ...

Ex. Belgian African art collection.
This African object testifies to the diversity of the decorative arts of the Fang: the carved janiform motif recalls the statuary surmounting the reliquary baskets. Anthropomorphic spoon-emblems are recurrent in tribal art. The spoon is also an emblem of social status, depending on the complexity of its shapes and decorative motifs.
Shiny oiled patina, reddish reflections.
The African art of the Byeri cult is illustrated by various anthropomorphic sculptures acting as "guardians" and embodying the ancestor. The boxes containing the relics of illustrious ancestors were guarded by the oldest man in the village, the "esa". Surmounted by a statue or a head that acted as guardian of the "byeri" boxes, they were stored in a dark corner ...

This knife, also called Trumbash, whose double-edged, curved blade is shared with a raised rib, has a wooden handle. A weapon of combat and prestige, it could also form a popular accessory during ritual dance ceremonies. Established in the forest in the northeast of Zaire, between Bomokandi and the Uele river, the Mangbetu kingdom expressed itself through architectural works that fascinated European visitors in the 19th century. Their furniture, weapons, ornaments, pottery and statuary were imbued with a rare aesthetic quality. Several groups established in the south of Uele were placed from 1820 under the authority of the Mangbetu kingdom: Bangaba, Makere, Mamvu, etc... A profusion of prestigious objects, as well as utilitarian objects, were produced for the dignitaries . From 1892, ...

Weapons, jewellery, coins, metal objects are inseparable from traditional African art. Metallurgy is intimately associated with the founding myths in many African cultures, such as blacksmiths who became kings (Zaire), the hammer anvil being the symbol of power among the Luba. Cult accessories, metal alloy gongs, some highly decorated, take on a wide variety of shapes. This double gong, in its simplicity, was a sacred instrument and the emblem of one of the many male societies of the people of Grassland, the Kwifoyn , whose headquarters adjoined the royal palace. The tinkling of wooden chopsticks on hollow metal heralded the beginning of ceremonies: communication with the supernatural world, ancestors, deities, could be established. Also objects of prestige, they accompanied the respect ...

Circular box made of wickerwork, with a lid that fits together. The dense, elaborate weaving incorporates certain geometric patterns borrowed from scarification, also visible on shoowa raffia textiles. The inner edge of the lid is missing.

The Kuba are renowned for the refinement of prestige objects created for the higher ranks of their society. The Lele live to the west of the Kuba kingdom and share common cultural characteristics with the Bushoong of Kuba country. Both groups decorate their prestige objects with similar motifs.
The extremely organized and hierarchical Kuba society placed at its center a king or nyim inspiring the statuary of the ethnic group.
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Source: Kuba, ed. 5continents, Binkley and Darish.

Ex. Belgian African tribal art collection.
This type of bell, an emblem of dignitary power, was used during the manipulation and activation of a Nkisi by the diviner or Nganga. The sides are incised with geometric shapes. The music produced by the bell is said to appeal to the spirits. These objects are found in the Khimba initiation society or the peacemaking association lemba with a figure bent forward at the top of the bell.
The Vili, the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembé, the Bwende, the Yombé, and the Kôngo formed the Kôngo group, headed by the king ntotela. Their kingdom reached its peak in the 16th century with the ivory and copper trade and the slave trade. With the same beliefs and traditions, they produced a statuary with a codified gesture related to ...

The usual objects have always been the mediums of choice for the artistic expression of African sculptors, especially in Côte d'Ivoire. The rice spoons of the Baoulé, and the neighbouring Dan, were not only intended to be offered to the most hospitable woman in the community, as a trophy. They were used at community meals closing traditional festivals and ritual ceremonies but were also used in fertility rituals: rice was then thrown on the crowd to ensure protection and fertility.

The handle of this ceremonial spoon or shovel is made up of a miniature of the Goli face mask named Kplé kplé yasua, worn by teenagers. These masks exist in black and red, male and female, and dance in turn, but this attribution varies from village to village. The ornamentation of this prestigious ...