African Arts Gallery

A tool and both a ceremonial and war weapon, this type of object was brandished in the context of ceremonies and ritual dances. The hatchet has an eroded handle with a lustrous patina. Its originality is its double blade whose function is unknown to us. 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. The Chokwé did not have centralized power but large chiefdoms. They were the ones who attracted artists wishing to put their know-how at the exclusive service of the court. The artists created so many varied pieces and of such quality that the Lunda court only employed them.

Old grain pestle whose center is carved with two faces. One of them is represented sticking out his tongue, a gesture with symbolic connotation in rituals against witchcraft. Smooth and glossy honey-coloured patina. Desication cracks.
The Vili, the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembe, the Bwende, the Dondo/Kamba, the Yombé and the Kôngo constituted 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. From comparable beliefs and traditions, they produced statuary endowed with codified gestures in keeping with their vision of the world. Their realistic masks took part in initiation ceremonies and the funerals of notables, and their nailed fetish statues, nkondi, were charged with magical elements ...

Rattle used during epha divination processes, common practice among the Urhobo. In Urhobo sanctuaries, sculptures for ritual use are present among a diversity of objects of all kinds. This is a tablet with a sculpted handle, the motifs of which represent the appearance of the group's masks. The board has many perforations, a half shell and is attached. Brown patina of use.
The Urhobos, living near the northwest of the Niger Delta River, form the major ethnic group in Delta State among the 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They speak Urhobo, a language of the Niger-Congo group. Along with the Isoko, whose art is similar, they are collectively known as Sobo. Their large sculptures representing the spirits of nature, Edjo, or the founding ancestors of the clan, to ...

Ex-Belgian collection of African art
Ritual object intended for divination sessions. Small spherical calabashes are topped with an African statuette embodying the mediating spirit. Seeds and elements called bijimba with magical virtues were introduced into the dried fruits, producing a sound when handled. These bankishi sculptures (sing. nkishi ) were used in the context of the bugabo , a society dedicated to hunting, healing and war. Dark satin patina.
The Hemba have long been subject to the neighboring Luba empire which has had a certain influence on their culture, religion and art. Ancestor worship, which influences justice, medicine, law and sacrifices, is central to Hemba society. Genealogy is indeed the guarantor of privileges and land distribution. Mastering ...

An object of daily use associated with rituals, this type of high cephalomorphic cup accompanied divination rites, pacts and various ceremonies. Like their Kuba neighbors, the Lele have a wide variety of ceremonial African sculptures, including a variety of figurative containers.
Grainy matte patina, ocher residue, shine at the base. br /> The Kuba are renowned for the refinement of prestige objects created for members of the high ranks of their society. Several Kuba groups produced anthropomorphic objects with refined designs including cups, drinking horns and goblets. The Lele are established in the west of the Kuba kingdom, at the confluence of the Kasai and Bashilele rivers. Intercultural exchanges between the Bushoong of Kuba territory and the Lele have made the ...

French collection of African tribal art.
Support of the ritualist named babalawo, priest of Ifa, these trays exist in three shapes. They are intended for Ifa, a system of divination which represents the teachings of the orisha Orunmila. The babalawo claim to ensure the future through their communication with Orunmila. In Yoruba thought in Nigeria, the orishas are a variety of divine spirits controlling natural forces. They are found mainly in the Yoruba cosmogony but more widely in West Africa and in the diasporas of Central and South America.
During the divination process, in order to invoke the orishas and accompany his chants, the diviner hammers the tray with a rattle carved in wood or ivory (iroké). Usage abrasions. Red ocher patina, colored highlights, abrasions.

Instrument of divination used by the diviner during rituals of divination. Integrating the category of nkisi, nkishi objects, it is supposed to be endowed with a secret power, a receptacle of spiritual energy.
The Kusu established on the left bank of the Lualaba have borrowed the artistic traditions of the Luba and the Hemba and have a caste system similar to that Luba. In this region, between the Bembe, Boyo, Hemba, Songye and Tetela, ritual objects were subject to exchanges and stylistic influences. Among the Luba, Songye and Hemba, this type of object linked to kashekeshekeest divination is called katatora and lubuko. According to François Neyt, the object was carved from wood (kibekwasa) with magical properties. During the interview, the ring was grabbed by the diviner ...

ex. Belgian collection of African art This type of African bell, emblem of dignitary power, was used during the manipulation and activation of a Nkisi by the diviner or Nganga. The sound produced by the bell would call upon the spirits. These objects are found in the Khimba initiation society or the lemba peacemaking association. Height on base: 23 cm.

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 codified gestures in relation to their vision of the world. Ref. : “African Art” ed. Mazenod; “Treasures of Africa” ...

Old Toubou dagger and its thick leather sheath with a braided skin handle. The sharpened and patinated blade shows signs of use. The handle is made of wood, with copper tip.
The "Lords of the desert", in the Sahara, named Toubou, Tubu, Tedda, or Gouranes, form a nomadic people, warriors and traders. Some of them practice the breeding of dromedaries. They live in northern Chad, in Libya in the Fezzan region, and in northeastern Niger.

French collection of African art
Within the figurative sculpture of the Kuba, the prestige objects held by members of the Kuba royal family and peripheral groups, Bushoong and Dengese, are always decorated with engraved motifs, parallel lines, intersecting lines, and checkerboards. The same geometric motifs also adorn the diviner's accessories such as this divination instrument without its pusher. These tools, used to resolve different cases, take up animal motifs associated with the ngesh (nature spirits) but also human motifs referring to ancestors and masks. Patina of use, chips and abrasions.

The Kuba kingdom or "people of lightning" 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 ...

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.

Anthropomorphic cup decorated with numerous refined details. Glossy brown patina, minor crack.
The Kuba and the tribes established between the Sankuru and Kasai rivers are renowned for the refinement of prestigious objects created for members of the high ranks of their society. They indeed produced anthropomorphic ceremonial objects with refined designs including palm wine cups or poison oracles, drinking horns and goblets. 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 originating from the Upper Nile. They produced primitive art statues with absent or truncated lower limbs, covered with graphic symbols, symbolizing the prestige of the leader.
Ref.: “Treasures ...

Ex-Belgian collection of African art.
Small pear-shaped container with a cap, intended to contain powder for wooden rifles. This black powder was imported from Europe, making it a luxurious commodity carefully preserved. This powder, to which magical virtues were also attributed, often complemented the ingredients of ritual fetishes. Decorative motifs are engraved on the sides of the object. Matte brown patina.
The Solongo cultures of Angola and Yombé were largely influenced by the Kongo kingdom from which they borrowed the naturalist statuary and religious rites, in particularly by means of carved fetishes nkondo nkisi.

Ref. : “Maternity in black African art” Massa; “Tribal Art of Black Africa” Bacquart.

This rather atypical African sculpture was a tool of communication with the ancestors used by the diviner during divination rituals. Symbol, for the Luba, of the spiritual power available to women, the sculpted figure adopts the "hands on the chest" posture indicating its importance within royalty. Beautiful warm brown satin patina, slight chips.

The Luba, or 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 python. In the 16th century they created a state, organized as a decentralized ...

Belgian collection of African art
Ritual object used during divination sessions, composed of gourds topped with a statuette of the mediating spirit. Seeds and magical elements called bijimba, produce a sound when the object is manipulated. These bankishi (sing. nkishi) sculptures were used as part of the bugabo, a society dedicated to hunting, healing and war. Dark satin patina.
The Hemba were long subject to the neighboring Luba empire which permeated their culture, religion and art. Ancestor worship is central in Hemba society. These are considered to have influence on justice, medicine, law and sacrifices. Mastering sculpture with talent, the Hemba have especially produced statues of singiti ancestors, embodying chiefs, local warriors, or lineage ancestors whom they ...

This type of talisman object, worn as a pendant, was used during collective hunts, in order to alert one's team or dog to direct the prey towards a goal. The whistling sound was modulated using the lateral appendage. The success of the hunts was in fact ensured by specialists thanks to a wide diversity of ritual objects. The motif is the Kiwoyo mask among the Eastern Pende, or Giwoyo among those from the Center, which was generally worn as a cap over a soft hat. Originally associated with the deceased lying on his bed, this mask was associated with funeral rituals. Nowadays he participates in peaceful and festive ceremonies
Matte brown patina.
Height on base: 20 cm.
The Western Pende live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the Eastern have established themselves on the ...

French collection of African artSupports of the ritualist named babalawo (or Babalao), priest of Ifa in the Yoruba language, these African trays exist in three forms, including the circular one ( opon ribiti ) such as this example. They are intended for the Ifa, a divination system that represents the teachings of the orisha Orunmila, orisha of Wisdom. The babalawo claim to ensure the future through their communication with Orunmila. In Yoruba thought in Nigeria and among those of Benin, the orishas form a variety of divine spirits controlling natural forces. They are found mainly in the Yoruba cosmogony but more widely in West Africa and in the diasporas of Central and South America. The center of the tray, aarin opon, forms a table in which kaolin powder (or flour) allows the ...

French collection of African tribal art.
These calabashes with a figurative motif, banksishi (sing. nkishi), were used as part of the bugabo, a society dedicated to hunting, healing and war during the colonial period. The subject linked to the ancestors springs from a gourd around which a cord is wrapped. The object makes a clicking sound when shaken. Residues of ritual anointings dot the contours. The bust statuette, which was ritually oiled by the mediummvidyein homage to the ancestors, surmounts a hollowed-out calabash. Secret ingredients, within magical reach, had previously been introduced into the object. During the ceremonies, the sound of the elements tinkling in the kabwelulu stirred by the ritualist, were supposed to attract the attention of the invoked spirits. Among ...

Ritual sculpture intended for divination sessions, composed of three spherical gourds surmounted by an animal figure embodying the mediating spirit. Seeds and elements called bijimba with magical properties were introduced into the dried fruits, producing a sound when the object is shaken. These bankishi (sing. nkishi) sculptures were used as part of the bugabo, a society dedicated to hunting, healing and war. Brown patina. Height on base: 30 cm.

The Hemba have long been subject to the neighboring Luba empire which had a certain influence on their culture, their religion and their art. Ancestor worship is central in Hemba society. Genealogy is in fact the guarantor of privileges and the distribution of land. All aspects of the community are imbued with the authority of the ...

Among the Kongo chiefs at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, the crucifix served, among the chieftain regalia, as a symbol of power and authority. A ceremony during the inauguration of the chief required that the future leader receive from the hands of a dignitary, during a codified ritual, a nkangi kiditu. This badge of power, inspired by ancient Christian crucifixes imported by the Portuguese in the 16th century, could also have a therapeutic function, and, in addition to various uses, be brandished during funeral ceremonies during which the object was subjected to libations. palm oil or wine.
Dark patina, minor cracking.
The cross would not be a motif specific to the Christian world, ...

Luntu type caryatid mortar intended for healers. The crouching subject is a recurring motif among the Luntu, as among the Lulua for whom this theme forms a protection.
Shiny two-tone patina, discreet cracks. Of Luba origin, the Luntu left the Luba-Kasaï territory to settle among the Lulua in Kasaï in the Democratic Republic of Congo, after having pushed back the Twa pygmies. Luntu culture is imbued with influences from their neighbors Lulua, Songye and Kuba. The powerful Leopard society counterbalances the traditional power of the mfumu chief and judge, who holds his authority from the Luba.