African Arts Gallery

African statuette in bronze alloy representing a character whose body seems to bend under the weight of the children held around his bust. The ears are traditionally distended. The statuette also bears concentric scarifications.
Golden patina, residual dark inlays.

The Vere , Verre , Were, Duru-Verre, or Dii, live in northeastern Nigeria, in the state of Adamawa (formerly Gongola), and in northern Cameroon. This very small population lives in circular huts grouped together in fortified villages.
The Vere statuettes, whose function remains unknown, are rare, and present analogies with the works produced by the Mumuye, their close neighbors established between Nigeria and Cameroon.

This figurative fetish statuette is said to be a divinatory fetish object. It would be of Tussia origin, Senoufo sub-group of Burkina-Faso. Irregular greenish-grey granular patina
. The Senoufos, the name given to them by the French colonists, are mainly composed of farmers who are scattered between Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso. Councils of elders, led by an elected chief, administer Senufo villages. Governed by matrilineal traditions, they are composed of clusters of dwellings named katiolo. Each has its own Poro association that initiates 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. Upon the death of one of the Poro members, ...

This sculpture depicting a Portuguese soldier, made using the lost wax casting process, has a blaster. Richly dressed, he wears a traditional tunic, hip dagger, helmet, and anklets. Shaded gray patina. The Portuguese arrived in Benin in the 15th century, equipped with a military arsenal which aroused great interest among the kings. The power of firearms was then naturally associated with the capacity for occult defense against invisible enemies. In the 16th century, Europeans played a major role in the court of the Oba: they imported corals and glass beads there, as well as shackles, highly coveted by the king and his courtiers.
At the same time, their soldiers took part in the military campaigns of Benin, in particular against the kingdom of Idah. The character's blaster therefore ...

Ex English private collection of African art.

These altar heads created using the lost wax technique are very loaded with details and patterns. The figures with realistic features have facial scarification and many finely detailed ornaments. This pair of busts presents a beautiful symmetry. The two figures wear a cross-braced garment with a collar bearing a bell.
The horns themselves are covered with geometric patterns and sculpted faces. At the top of each horn sits a soldier, helmet on his head and weapon in his fist.

The art of Benin is described as a court art because it is closely associated with the king, known as the oba. The tradition of Ifè bronze court objects dates back to the 14th century.

The numerous bronze heads and ...