African Arts Gallery

This Chokwe or Lwena statuette, associated with the Hamba type therapeutic cult, embodies a female ancestor. These figures were arranged around the muyombo altar, a tree at the foot of which sacrifices and offerings were once made. Sculptures made in sticks or poles (Mbunji or mbanji) planted in the ground were also associated with it. The related ethnic groups had this same type of altar, a witness before which rituals, oaths and important transactions were concluded.
Beautiful abraded dark brown patina, desication cracks. Of Lunda origin, the Lwena emigrated from Angola to Zaire in the 19th century, repulsed 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 ...

Sculpture offering, between ample circular ears, a concave face divided by an imposing nose. The eyes are engraved in button, a wide mouth is incised with teeth. The stretched bust bears parallel "v" markings of Ngombe origin. Smooth mahogany patina, erosions.
Descended from the Banda group, the Togbo originally immigrated from the Lake Chad region to the Ubangi territories. They rubbed shoulders with the Ngbaka and the Ngombe , shared the habits and customs of different Banda clans, but were above all marked by the influence populations of the Central African Republic (CAR). Besides the ancestors, they fear the spirits of nature and practice divination in an attempt to improve their destiny. Among their various ritual sculptures, the zukoro statuettes intervened during ...

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 ...

Statue of ancestor of African art Baoulé, this Waka-Sona, Waka sran, " being of wood" in Baoulé, embodies a seated Oussou , being of the earth, genius of nature. It is part of a type of statue intended to be used as a medium tool by komien diviners, or "komienfoué", the latter being selected by the spirits asye usu in order to communicate the revelations of the afterlife or blolo. The second type of statues are the spouses of the afterlife, male, the blolo bian or female, the blolo bia.
In order to give them strength, the braided beards of Baoulé men were coated with shea butter. . Black satin patina. Erosions.

Statuette of African art, from the north center of the Bandiagara plateau region, N'duleri, personifying an ancestor. Established in a posture of contemplation, the hands extending from long slender arms resting on the thighs, the thin and angular figure would seem almost immaterial.
Irregular matte patina, cracks and erosions.

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. Alongside Islam, Dogon religious rites are organized around four main cults: the Lébé, relating to fertility, under the spiritual authority of the Hogon, the Wagem, ancestor worship under the authority of the patriarch, the Binou invoking the spirit world and led by ...

Leading collectors of African art delight in decorative pieces. The name of this renowned collector will be communicated to the purchaser.
African statuette of Baga inspiration, reproducing the morphology of the Baga Nimba mask embodying a village spirit. A hut in the center of the village housed this type of protective figure which was the subject of offerings. Some of them were used for divination.
The nose refers to the hornbill's beak while the traditional crest hairstyle is incised. This national symbol can reach up to 50 kg in its largest versions. His real name Demba / D'mba (or Nimba in the Baga language), he evokes the nurturing woman, but also the fertility of the hornbill . Supposed to increase harvests and encourage pregnancies, the mask is exhibited ...

African art and royal symbols of the Benin Kingdom.
Benin's rich iconography is full of references to the leopard, including bronze aquamaniles. This benign type example, dotted with ocelli, offers a gray-brown patina with golden reflections. Before the destruction of the palace of the Kingdom of Benin in 1897, the divine character of the kings, the Oba, was illustrated by multiple works celebrating their power. The killing of the king of animals associated with legends, the leopard, was the privilege of the chief, the Oba. The feline could then serve as an offering for the cult of the chief's head. Sometimes tamed by various royal guilds, he accompanied the leader on his travels. The Oba, called "child of the household leopard", could also offer the teeth or skin to commanders ...

The statues associated with the Byeri cult are illustrated by anthropomorphic sculptures embodying the ancestor and acting as "guardians".
Carried by half-flexed legs with salient muscles, the subject bends under the load of a basket basketry. Beneath a bouquet of feathers, the bulging gaze indicates a state of trance.
Shiny patina, minor cracking, old foot restorations.

Among the Fang of Cameroon and Gabon, each family has a "Byeri", or reliquary box, in which the bones of the ancestors are kept. These boxes were guarded by the oldest man in the village, the "esa". The reliquary boxes were surmounted by a statue or a head which acted as guardian of the "byeri" boxes. These were kept in a dark corner of the hut, and were intended to divert evil influences to ...

Taking up the traditional posture and the suffering physiognomy of mbole sculpted subjects, this statuette offers two-tone hues.
The Mbole are known for their statues embodying, according to D. Biebuck, hanged men, named ofika. The lilwa , an association with dogmatic initiation rites, used to judge and sentence to hanging those guilty of violations of the imposed rules. These offenses ranged from murder to adultery to breaking the secrecy surrounding the lilwa. Dishonored, the bodies of the condemned enjoyed no funeral and were buried in the forest. It was during the ceremonies at the end of the initiation, presided over by a notable isoya, that these statues were exhibited, presented lying on a litter.

Bust sculpture whose face bears Yoruba scarifications. The head rests on a panel which extends into the subject's back, including the arms. The sculptor seems to have placed the breasts on either side of the trunk, behind the scepter and the staff of command. Matte polychrome patina, drying cracks.
Centered on the veneration of its gods, or orisà, the Yoruba religion is based on artistic sculptures with coded messages (aroko). They are designed by sculptors at the request of followers, diviners and their clients. These spirits are believed to intercede with the supreme god Olodumare. The kingdoms of Oyo and Ijebu were born 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 ...

African statuette depicting a Téké ancestor with a face streaked with scarifications in use. This type of object formed an individual protective charm. Grainy residues of ritual practices dot the subject's bust. Lack, erosions, glossy black patina.br />
Established between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon, the Téké were organized into chiefdoms whose chief was often chosen from among the blacksmiths. The head of the family, mfumu, had the right to life or death over his family, the importance of which determined his prestige. The chief of the clan, ngantsié , kept the great protective fetish tar mantsié which supervised all the ceremonies. According to the Téké, wisdom was absorbed and stored in the abdomen. It is also according to the directives of the sorcerer that ...

This sign was intended for the affliction cults nzaambi , also practiced by the Yaka , rituals that allowed to deal with a problem whose divinatory practices had been able to establish the source. While the Holos were likely inspired by Christian iconography, they honored spirits and not a single god. Often intended to promote hunting, fertility or good health, these sculptures had to be ritually encased with different substances by the interested. The frame is regularly engraved with geometric patterns. Beautiful satin brown patina. Scattered abrasions. Located in democratic Congo between the Yaka and the Tchokwé of Angola, the small ethnic Holo migrated from the Angolan coast to settle near the banks of the Kwango. Hunting and agriculture provide for their livelihood. Neighbouring ...

Sculpture named "little favorite", Nyeleni in Bambara, represented frontally, palms forward, breasts in "obus" on a narrow bust widening towards a wide prominent buttocks. The half-flexed legs are proportionally reduced. The face is covered with a streaked crest whose side mats frame the ears of the "en horseshoe. The piece, streaked with notches and parallel grooves, features a light brown matte patina with powdery beige ocré inlays.
Desication cracks. The Bambara of central and southern Mali belong to the large Mande group, such as the Soninke and Malinke. They believe in the existence of a creator god generically called Ngala who maintains the order of the universe. His existence coexists with another androgynous god called Faro, who gave all the qualities to men and who grows ...

This type of female African figure, among the Luba, was often linked to fecundity and fertility rituals. The posture would further indicate that the secrets of royalty, bizila, belong to the women at the Luba court through their role as political and spiritual intermediaries. The female figurative subjects would represent for the Lubas the wife of the diviner, hence its importance in the process of bilumbu divination. According to some Lubas, however, although a woman, she would represent the first Luba diviner, and would also be an allegory of royalty linked to the powerful Mbudye society associated with royal power. ("Luba" Roberts.) Beautiful satin patina, erosions and gaps.
The Luba (Baluba in Chiluba) are a people of Central Africa. Their cradle is Katanga, more precisely ...

Togolese version of the Ibejdi of the Yoruba, these figurines of twins disappeared are endowed with a clear velvety patina.

The Ewe, often confused with the Minas, are the largest ethnic group in Togo. They are also found as minorities in Ghana, Benin, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. The Ewe consider the birth of twins called Venavi (or Venovi) as a good omen. They are to be treated equally and fairly. For example, both will be fed and washed at the same time and will wear the same clothes until they reach puberty. If one of the twins dies, the parents obtain a statuette to replace the deceased child and contact a fetishist to activate its magical virtues.
It will be of the same sex as the child it represents and replaces, but it projects itself into the future that ...

Wearing braided shells, the male subject whose head forms a third of the body, wears scarified motifs, bracelets and necklaces and a light loincloth. Patina of use, small accidents and desication crack.
Gifts of women, food, festive ceremonies, and honorable status once rewarded dan carvers who were granted this talent during a dream. The latter was the means of communication of Du, invisible spiritual power, with men. Statuary, rare, had a prestigious role with its owner. These are mainly effigies of wives, lü mä, wooden human beings. These are not incarnations of spirits or effigies of ancestors, but prestige figures representing living people, often commissioned by the chiefs, whose names the statues will bear. They are placed in miniature boxes built for this purpose.

Symbolizing a moral value or a dogma, or associated with a lega proverb, this statuette established on spread legs, arms raised, offers a perforated bust. Two-tone satin patina, abrasions.
The tribal art of the Lega, Balega, or even Warega, is distinguished by its initiation statuettes, also made of ivory, some of which were kept in a basket intended for the highest ranking Bwami from different communities. This type of Iginga ( Maginga in the plural) tribal art statuette was the property of the high ranks of the Bwami, a secret society admitting men and their wives, and governing social life. This organization was subdivided into initiatory stages, the highest being the Kindi. The statuettes were used as the aspirants were initiated. The particularity of the Lega, unlike other ...

The African art of Benin, a court art closely associated with King Oba, dates back to the 14th century. The many bronze alloy 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 altars consecrated by each new Oba. This late sculpture, reminiscent of those made when the queen died, features a queen mother of Benin named the Iyoba, whose neck is encircled with multiple necklaces of coral beads. Her high headdress was also made of a mesh of pearls falling on either side of her face. After the birth of the future king, the queen was "removed" from power and could no longer father. But at the end of the 15th century the Oba Esigie refused to conform to this practice and wanted to ...

African tribal art of the Tabwa, prestigious objects.

This stylized figure devoid of limbs is endowed with feminine attributes and a protruding navel, and bears the traditional scarifications. Brown satin patina.
The Tabwa ("scarify" and "write") constitute an ethnic group present in the south-east of the DRC. Simple farmers without centralized power, they federated around tribal chiefs after coming under the influence of the Luba. The tribes of this region, such as the Tumbwe, worship the mipasi ancestors through sculptures held by chiefs or sorcerers. The Tabwa practiced ancestor worship and dedicated some of their statues named mkisi to them. Animists, their beliefs are anchored around the ngulu, spirits of nature present in plants and rocks.

African statue depicting a woman adorned with jewels and whose face is streaked with "kpélé" scarifications. It is surrounded by subjects representing followers or minor gods.
Shiny patina, subtle polychrome highlights. Erosions and cracks.
Yoruba society has several associations whose roles vary. While the male egbe society reinforces social norms, the aro unites the farmers. The gelede has more esoteric and religious aims. 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 ...

In African art, statuettes Lega. The teacher guided the aspiring lega to a place where African lega masks and statuettes were exhibited, and it was through attentive observation that the future initiate had to guess the more or less complex meaning of these objects, real metaphors referring largely to proverbs and sayings. Golden brown satin patina.
Within the Léga, the Bwami society open to men and women, organized social and political life. There were up to seven levels of initiation, each associated with emblems. Following their exodus from Uganda during the 17th century, the Lega settled on the west bank of the Lualaba River in the DRC. The role of leader, kindi, is held by the oldest man in the clan, who ...