African Arts Gallery

Seated couple, each with traditional headdress and a necklace-talisman. Velvety khaki patina. The populations of the same cultural region, grouped under the name "Lobi", make up one fifth of the inhabitants of Burkina Faso. Although they are not very numerous in Ghana, they have also settled in the north of the Ivory Coast. It was at the end of the eighteenth century that the Lobi , coming from northern Ghana, settled among the indigenous Thuna and Puguli, the Dagara , the Dian , the Gan and the Birifor . The Lobi believe in a creator God named Thangba Thu, to whom they turn through the worship of numerous intermediate spirits, the Thil, the latter being supposed to protect them, with the help of the diviner, against a host of plagues. Geniuses of the bush, red-haired beings called ...

Regal insignia in African art from Cameroon This Bamoun dignitary's necklace, made of bronze, has twelve motifs featuring buffalo heads, welded onto a ring. These animals are symbolically associated with power because of their fearsome nature and massive stature. When they sit, the members of the Bamoun Sultan's court council wear this distinctive sign of their function,the mbangba, which they believe helps to reinforce their prestige and ward off any evil power. Among the Bamoun, it is the fon , the head of the kingdom or chiefdom, who will offer this necklace to deserving men.

The Bamun, deeply Islamized, inhabit a region that is both full of wooded landforms but also savannahs. This large territory of the name of Grassland located in the southwest of Cameroon is ...

The iconic cups of African Dogon art
. Blacksmith artists Dogon form an endogamous caste among the Dogon called irim . Today they produce weapons, tools,and also work with wood. "Masters of fire", they are furthermore supposed to heal burns (Huib Blom). The Nommo, a protective ancestor evoked in different forms in Dogon iconography, is said to be an ancestor gifted with the ability to manifest himself in human or animal form, hence the frequent decorative motifs adorning the sculptures. The wavelet friezes are also symbolic. Greenish-gray patina. The Dogon are a people renowned for their cosmogony, myths and rituals. Their population is estimated at about 300,000 souls living in the southwestern loop of the Niger in the Mopti region of Mali (Bandiagara, Koro, Banka), near ...

African art from Benin is described as court art because it is closely associated with the king, known as the Oba. The tradition of bronze court objects in the Benin kingdom dates back to the 14th century. The many bronze alloy heads and statues created by Benin artists were reserved for the exclusive use of the inhabitants of the royal palace and, more often than not, placed on altars consecrated by each new Oba. These rectangular altars were topped with heads, statues, carved ivory tusks, bells and sticks. They were used to commemorate an oba and to make contact with his spirit. This late sculpture, reminiscent of those made at the death of the queen, depicts a queen mother of Benin named the Iyoba, whose neck is encircled with multiple coral bead necklaces. Her high headdress also ...

This bronze represents the Oni, king of Ifé, the birthplace of the Yorubas, whose civilization succeeded the Nok civilization. This city-state of Ilé-Ifé had an artistic tradition, that of the portrait imbued with realism, which inspired this type of sculpture. The parallel lines on the neck would evoke the folds of flesh of prosperous notables, and the hollowed-out parts that accompany it were to be used to secure the beaded veil of the king. The orifices around the mouth presumably symbolized a beard created by the attachment of hair or beads. Such a head was attached to the top of a wooden effigy, dressed to represent the deceased king at the funeral, then buried after the ceremony in a sanctuary near the palace.
The city of Ifé in Nigeria was in the 15th century the center of ...

Attesting to the social origin of its owner, the African chair is a piece of furniture designed to enhance its prestige. It is therefore often decorated in its middle part with anthropomorphic or zoomorphic figures in relation to the founding myths and beliefs of the ethnic group. The specimen presented is formed of a ring on which five graceful caryatid figures, perched on heads, support with their arms raised a circular seat. The tray is engraved with regular concentric motifs and broken lines, and drawings of cauris, symbols of wealth. The characters with the filiform body have a voluminous head typical of Cameroonian statuary.
The Tikars populate the western part of central Cameroon, which lies within the dense secondary forest of medium altitude, along the Mbam. Within this ...

These haughty figures embody the primordial couple Nommos at the origin of creation among the Dogon of Mali. Evoking the sculptures of Giacometti, these bronze statues are frozen in a walking movement. A succession of notches punctuate the slender bodies.
Brown patina.
Scattered shards.
The Dogon are a people renowned for their cosmogony, their esotericism, their myths and legends. Their population is estimated at around 300,000 souls living in the south-west of the Niger loop in the Mopti region of Mali (Bandiagara, Koro, Banka), near Douentza and part of northern Burkina (north-west of Ouahigouya ). The villages are often perched on top of the scree on the side of the hills, according to a unique architecture. The history of Dogon migrations and settlements ...

Used as an amulet credited with apotropaic virtues, this small bronze sculpture constitutes, for the Sao, a talisman supposed to protect them from madness. It is therefore worn at all times. The genie that would possess the madman is represented by the rider, the horse representing the victim. This rider, wearing a chèche, rides an equine, which was a rare attribute of prestige in these regions of the Sahel, and has a lustrous golden patina. The Sao, ancestors of the Kotoko, were established between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries in a geographical area stretching across the borders between Chad, northern Cameroon and Nigeria. They settled on hills, which allowed them to repel invaders. Subjected to successive assaults by their neighbors from Kanem and then by hordes from ...

Before the destruction of the palace of the Benin kingdom in 1897, the divine character of the kings, the Oba, was illustrated by multiple works celebrating their power. War scenes were reproduced on narrative plaques, in bronze, and affixed to the walls. Sumptuous bronze altars, commemorative figures of deceased chiefs, heavy bracelets, anklets and recades were produced in quantity in numerous workshops of founders according to the technique of the lost wax casting. The leopard, representing the royal power, has a central place in the culture of the Benin kingdom because this animal appears in the founding myth of which King Ewuare is the hero. According to the legend, King Ewuare wakes up after spending a night next to a leopard and a snake without realizing it. As in other ...

Stylized female figure, represented seated, presenting a dish. Abraded patina, black, with ocher inlays.

The Sao, ancestors of the Kotoko, were established between the 12th and 14th centuries in a geographical area extending over the borders between Chad, northern Cameroon and Nigeria. They established themselves on hills, which enabled them to repel invaders. Subjected to successive attacks from their neighbors in Kanem and then to hordes from the East, the Sao had to abandon their lands to settle in the North-West of Cameroon where they mixed with the natives, thus giving birth to an ethnic group called Kotoko. . Lost wax casting was already commonly practiced as early as the 12th century by this African ethnic group, which mainly produced, among the prestige ...

Protective figure of a crocodile. Khaki patina with golden highlights. The populations of the same cultural region, grouped under the name "Lobi", make up one fifth of the inhabitants of Burkina Faso. Although they are not very numerous in Ghana, they have also settled in the north of the Ivory Coast. It was at the end of the eighteenth century that the Lobi , coming from northern Ghana, settled among the indigenous Thuna and Puguli, the Dagara , the Dian , the Gan and the Birifor . The Lobi believe in a creator God named Thangba Thu, to whom they turn through the worship of numerous intermediate spirits, the Thil, the latter being supposed to protect them, with the help of the diviner, against a host of plagues. Geniuses of the bush, red-haired beings called Kontuor , are ...

African art collection put up for sale by Jan Putteneers.
This dogon sculpture, a traditional figurative jewel, adorned with a zoomorphic subject, accompanied the ceremonial dress of religious leaders, hogon, responsible for the cult of the lebe, mythical snake, and priests of the Binou. Small metal objects, made using the lost wax technique, were widespread in the interior delta region of Niger, with copper being made possible through trans-Saharan trade. Excavations on the Bandiagara plateau have uncovered remains of steel sites prior to the 15th century, when the Dogons arrived. In yellow copper alloy, this element of dogon tribal adornment has acquired a beautiful golden patina. Dogon blacksmiths form an endogamous caste among the Dogon called rim . They now produce weapons, ...

This small anthropomorphic sculpture, of kisi type, takes in miniature the canons of the Kongo statuary, and in particular the funerary statues inyongo or mintadi of lower Zaire, which were made of stone. These figures form the vital embodiment of a spirit or ancestor. Comes with plexi base.
The Vili, the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembé, the Bwende, the Yombé and the Kôngo formed the group Kôngo , led by King ntotela. Their kingdom reached its peak in the 16th century with the ivory, copper and slave trade. Similarly, beliefs and traditions, they produced a statuary with a codified gesture in relation to their worldview. The sorcerers nganga, both healers, were in charge of religious activities and mediation towards the God called Nzambi by the help of consecrated figures. To ...

Ex private English collection of African art.

Altar heads are famous pieces in benign art. Like the other bronzes, they were cast using the lost wax technique. These pieces are very loaded with details and patterns. This royal head with realistic features has facial scarifications and many finely detailed ornaments. A recurring feature, the warhead headdress is imposing and beautifully decorated.

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

The many bronze heads and statues created by the artists of Benin were reserved for the exclusive use of the inhabitants of the royal palace and, more often than not, placed on ...

L'art tribal palatial du Bénin.
Avant la destruction du palais du royaume de Bénin en 1897 , le caractère divin des rois, les Oba , s'illustrait par de multiples oeuvres célébrant leur puissance. Des scènes guerrières étaient reproduites sur des plaques narratives, en bronze, et apposées sur les murs. Somptueux autels en bronze, figures commémoratives de chefs décédés,lourds bracelets , chevillères et récades étaient produits en quantité dans de nombreux ateliers de fondeurs selon la technique de la fonte à la cire perdue. La mise à mort du roi des animaux associés aux légendes, le léopard, était le privilège du chef, l'Oba. Le félin pouvait alors servir d'offrande pour le culte de la tête du chef. Parfois dompté par diverses guildes royales, il accompagnait le chef lors de ses ...

This small anthropomorphic sculpture, of kisi type, takes in miniature the canons of the Kongo statuary, and in particular the funerary statues inyongo or mintadi of lower Zaire, which were made of stone. These figures form the vital embodiment of a spirit or ancestor. Comes with plexi base.
The Vili, the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembé, the Bwende, the Yombé and the Kôngo formed the group Kôngo , led by King ntotela. Their kingdom reached its peak in the 16th century with the ivory, copper and slave trade. Similarly, beliefs and traditions, they produced a statuary with a codified gesture in relation to their worldview. The sorcerers nganga, both healers, were in charge of religious activities and mediation towards the God called Nzambi by the help of consecrated figures. To ...

In African art, works of Sao Sokoto inspiration are predominantly imbued with the equestrian world.
Within the ethnic group, small examples of horsemen generally in bronze are cast and worn as talismans, patinated and glossed by rubbing. They are considered above all as a remedy against possession by evil spirits. The horse represents the spirit of the person who is possessed, while the genie that possesses him is symbolized by the rider.
Subjected to successive assaults by their neighbors from Kanem and then by hordes from the East, the Sao had to abandon their lands to settle in the North-West of Cameroon where they mixed with the natives, thus giving birth to an ethnic group called Kotoko. More than an ethnic group, the Sao are a civilization that has now ...

French African art collection.
Small, almost supernatural figure offering a spherical head, globular abdomen and graceful limbs. It probably illustrates the Fon , chief of the clan . The figure is topped with a bird. Misses and cracks under the buttocks.
The Tikar inhabit the western part of central Cameroon, which is located within the dense secondary forest of medium altitude, bordering the Mbam. Within this ecotone, the "Tikar plain" (which takes its name from its occupants) constitutes a depression that backs onto the west and north respectively of the Mbam massif (and its Mapé and Kim tributaries) and the first foothills of the Adamaoua plateau. The structure of the kingdom consists of a large chiefdom subdivided into quarters: the residences of the queens, the ...

The elegance of proportions and attitudes, in this African work of art made of bronze, has been skillfully translated by the Dogon blacksmith. These form an endogamous caste among the Dogon called irim . Today they produce weapons, tools,and also work with wood. "Masters of fire", they are also supposed to cure burns (Huib Blom). The frequent representations of horsemen among the Dogon of Mali refer to their cosmogony and their complex religious myths. Indeed, one of the Nommos , ancestors of man, resurrected by the creator god Amma , descended to earth carried on an ark metamorphosed into a horse. In addition, the highest authority of the Dogon people, the religious leader named Hogon , paraded on his mount during his enthronement because according to custom he was not to set foot on ...

Ofo sculptures, mediating objects in African art
This African sculpture named Ofo (after the tree in which it was made), has a face haloed by a large crest. Its base forms three spirals. The wooden bust is trimmed with metal rods and ribbons, some of which are spirals. A rare and symbolic piece held by an elder named N'dichie , and associated with the agnatic lineage, upon which an oath was sometimes taken, this black iron object was displayed in Igbo homes and altars. The Igbo live in the forest in southeastern Nigeria. This tradition later spread to neighboring ethnic groups. Based on a botanical sculpture from a "male" tree, and composed of brittle twigs, images of boys dependent on their father and then breaking away from him, this object is part of a type of achievements ...

In African art, Sao Sokoto inspired works are mostly imprinted with the equestrian world. Within the ethnic group, small examples of horsemen generally in bronze are cast and worn as talismans, patinated and glossed by rubbing. They are considered above all as a remedy against possession by evil spirits. The horse represents the spirit of the person who is possessed, while the genie that possesses them is symbolized by the rider.
Subjected to successive assaults by their neighbors from Kanem and then by hordes from the East, the Sao had to abandon their lands to settle in the northwest of Cameroon where they mixed with the natives, thus giving birth to an ethnic group called Kotoko. More than an ethnic group, the Sao are a civilization that has now disappeared. They were found ...