African Arts Gallery

French collection of African art .
Fon fetish of phallic form.
The multitude of fon gods (the vodun), similar to those of the Yoruba under different names, is represented by fetishes of all shapes and natures. Their sanctuaries are erected in Togo, Dahomey, and in Western Nigeria. Statuettes embodying the legba, protectors of the home, are often attached to them. The faithful administer daily offerings and libations to them, supposed to activate their power. The Fon live in a part of the Republic of Benin formerly called Dahomay. According to legend, a princess of Yoruba origin created this kingdom before the 17th century.
Their culture and stylistic characteristics are related to those of neighboring ethnic groups all located in a lagoon region in eastern Côte ...

African art from the Voltaic regions.
Amulet or weight representing a kneeling subject carrying a vase on his head. Dark patina encrusted with verdigris.
Named Pakhalla by the Dioula, the Koulango formed the Loron in the Voltaic territory. The Dagomba chiefs of the kingdom of Bouna would then have called them "Koulam" (singular: koulango, subject, vassal). Their complex history has engendered a no less complex culture. It is between Burkina Faso and Comoé, in the north-east of Côte d'Ivoire, that their territory extends. Of animist fetishistic religion, they address their ancestors and the spirits of nature through sculptures in which the souls of these spirits are supposed to reside.

The African statues of the Mangbetu type are said to represent ancestors. They are decorated with incisions referring to the body paintings and scarifications of the group, comparable to those of the Asua pygmies with whom the tribe maintained relations. These motifs varied according to the circumstances. The fan hairstyle was worn by the Mangbetu: from a very young age, children underwent compression of the skull using raffia ties. Later, the Mangbetu "knitted" their hair on wicker strands and applied a headband to the forehead in order to extract the hair and produce this particular headdress which accentuates the elongation of the head. The elders call beli these figures of ancestors stored out of sight and comparable to those belonging to their secret society nebeli.
Mahogany ...

Female figure represented seated, wearing a crest related to the Ogbom ceremonies, which took place in front of the altar at the end of the periods of seclusion. The crest masks were then kept near the chimney flues of the huts to be protected from insects.
Grainy patina, colored highlights. The Eket, established in the south-east of Nigeria, are a sub-group of the Ibibio ethnic group renowned for their expressive masks. They are a patrilineal society whose villages are governed by the Ekpo Ndem Isong , a group of elders and heads of extended families. Their decisions are reinforced by members of the Ekpo society who act as messengers of the Ikan (ancestors) and who, during their political functions, are always masked. Their Ogbom ceremony, which takes place in the middle of ...

Statue embodying an ancestor in the "funda nkata" posture, which dignitaries adopted during receptions, such as the Kuba kings. ("Le Geste Kongo" ed. Musée Dapper.)
Desiccation cracks. Red-brown patina.
Established on the plateaus of the People's Republic of Congo, formerly Brazzaville, and not to be confused with the Bembé group from the north of Lake Tanganyika, the small Babembé group, Béembé, was influenced by the Téké rites and culture, but especially by that of the Kongo. Settled in the current Republic of Congo, the Béembé originally formed the kingdom of Kongo, with the Vili, Yombé, Bwendé and Woyo.

Sometimes wrongly called "colon", this type of African statuette forms the incarnation of a spiritual husband, sculpted according to the instructions of the diviner. In "African art, Western eyes" Susan Vogel reports that a figure of this type (p.255), an idealized spouse, is often represented dressed in city clothing because the husband (s) is supposed to have a job in the city. The earthly spouse, through the cult rendered to this spiritual double, expects to have his favors and his protection. About sixty ethnic groups populate the Ivory Coast, including the Baoulé, in the center, Akans from Ghana, people of the savannah, practicing hunting and agriculture just like the Gouro from whom they borrowed the cults and masks.
Extinct polychrome patina, erosions.

French African art collection.
This African sculpture "mbulu-ngulu", plated with metal according to the Kota tradition, forms a stylized image of the ancestor, a coat of arms also for the clan, and is generally distinguished by the shape of the headdress, which varies according to the regions.
The Kota live in the eastern part of Gabon, which is rich in iron ore, and some in the Republic of Congo. The blacksmith, in addition to wood carving, made tools for agricultural work as well as ritual weapons. The sculptures playing the role of "medium" between the living and the dead who watched over the descendants, were associated with the bwete rites, comparable to those of the Fang . They topped the baskets containing the mortuary remains of the ancestors of high lineage. In the ...

Minimalism for this anthropomorphic figure in black iron with a strange flat face. Reddish-brown patina.
The populations of the same cultural region, grouped under the name "lobi", form a fifth of the inhabitants of Burkina Faso. Few in number in Ghana, they have also settled in the north of Ivory Coast. It was at the end of the 18th 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, whom they address through the worship of many intermediary spirits, the Thil. Various sacred altars are erected around the Lobi houses. The sanctuary of the family home is called the Thildu, where tribal sculptures of wood, iron or brass, statues of ...

Private collection of African tribal art The sculpted subject could represent the diviner accompanying the ritual songs with the drum. Satin brown patina, encrusted residues of white clay and red ochre. Cracks and erosions.

Hierarchical and authoritarian, composed of fearsome warriors, the Yaka society was governed by lineage chiefs with the right of life and death over their subjects. Hunting and the prestige that comes from it are an opportunity today for the Yaka to invoke the ancestors and to resort to rituals using charms linked to the "khosi" institution. The initiation society for young people is the n-khanda, which is found among the eastern Kongo (Chokwe, Luba, etc.), and which uses various charms and masks in order to ensure a vigorous lineage.

Ibeji statuettes, incarnation of the missing child in African Yoruba art.
Large almond-shaped eyes, scarifications cut into the face, braids gathered into a crest generally illustrate the aesthetic traditions of African Yoruba art. Orange patina, indigo highlights.
In the language of the Yoruba people, ibeji means twin: ibi for born and eji for two. They represent the figure of a deceased twin. These African statuettes named ibeji are then treated as the missing child would have been. It is the mother who must take care of them; she can wash and feed them regularly. If she dies, the remaining twin takes over. Considered much more than a physical representation of a loved one, the ibedji influences the life of the family, which is why the latter continues to address prayers and ...

Leaning on the knees, squatting back to back, the face with the features of a lega mask, these statuettes connected by fabric cords would symbolize a proverb known to future Bwami initiates. Velvety two-tone patina, grainy residues of kaolin, erosions.
The African art of Lega , Balega, or even Warega , is distinguished by its initiation statuettes, also made of ivory , some of which were kept in a basket 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. Following their exodus from Uganda during ...

In the African art of the middle Benoué where peoples grouped together under the name of Mama (Kantana, Montol, and Goemai) live, the anthropo-zoomorphic statues associated with the Mangam cult that these groups share are characterized by a stylized head in relation to the buffalo. This animal is associated with fertility among the Mama. The morphology of this singular work recalls the statuary of Chamba, a neighboring ethnic group, and Mumuye. Like the masks, the statues are used within the ethnic group by the members of a male association responsible for maintaining social order and increasing or promoting agricultural production. Heterogeneous grainy patina, desiccation cracks, indigenous restorations (staples).
(Ref.: Arts of Nigeria, A.Lebas, 5continents)

The African statues of the Mangbetu type probably represent ancestors of the clan. They display incisions related to the body paintings and scarifications of the group, comparable to those of the Asua pygmies with whom the tribe maintained relations. These motifs varied according to the circumstances. The fan hairstyle was worn by the Mangbetu aristocrats: from a very young age, the children underwent compression of the skull by means of raffia ties. Later, the Mangbetu "knitted" their hair on strands of wicker and applied a headband to the forehead in order to extract the hair and produce this particular headdress which accentuates the elongation of the head. The ancients call beli these figures of ancestors stored out of sight and comparable to those belonging to their secret society ...

Sculpture of African art depicting a male ancestor whose facial and body scarifications distinguish the Batabwa clans. The subject is positioned on a circular base, shoulders and torso facing forward.
Rough brown patina, erosions and desiccation cracks.
The Tabwa ("scarify" and "write") constitute an ethnic group present in the South-East of the DRC, around Lake Tanganyika. The tribes of this region, such as the Tumbwe, worship their mipasi ancestors thanks to sculptures held by chiefs or sorcerers. A magical charge (dawa) was frequently inserted at the top of the statues' heads. The diviners-healers used this type of object to reveal witchcraft and protect against malicious spirits. Simple farmers without centralized power, the Tabwa united around tribal chiefs after having ...

Ex. French collection of African art

Among the Fang of Cameroon and Gabon, each family has a "Byeri", also called a reliquary box, intended to house the bones of the ancestors. These boxes were under the care of the oldest man in the village, called "esa". Topped with a statue or a head, these boxes served as guardians, diverting evil influences towards other people. They were kept in a dark corner of the house and were used during initiation ceremonies for young members of the "So" society. During festivities, the statues were detached from their boxes and carried in procession, held by their posterior part. Abraded matte patina.

This sculpture of African Dogon art, carved from dense wood, personifies an ancestor. The physiognomy expresses deep meditation. Dry, matte and flaky patina. Desiccation cracks.
These statues, sometimes embodying the nyama of the deceased, are placed on ancestor altars and participate in various rituals including those of the sowing and harvest periods. According to Dogon cosmogony, the first primordial ancestors of Dogon, called Nommo, were the bisexual gods of water. They were created in the sky by the creator god Amma and descended from heaven to earth in an ark. The Nommo is said to have founded the eight lineages of Dogon and instilled weaving, the art of blacksmithing, and agriculture in his human descendants.
Ref.: "Dogon" H. Leloup, ed. Musée du Quai Branly.

Carved according to the indications of the Ifa transmitted to the diviner, the babalawo, the Ibedji statuettes played the role of substitute in the death of the child. The statues are then treated as the missing child would have been. It is the mother who must take care of them; she anoints them with oil and feeds them regularly. If she disappears, it is the remaining twin who takes over. Considered to be much more than a physical representation of a loved one, linked to the cult of Shango, the ibedji statues are supposed to influence the life and prosperity of the family, and the latter continues to address prayers to them on domestic altars by means of ritual libations. Brilliant mahogany-colored patina, kaolin residue, erosions on a base.

Lineage statuette, which was supposed to protect against enemies. These sculptures were made according to the instructions of the Nganga ngoombu and the person who commissioned the object. Rituals and incantatory formulas "reactivated" them. Black patina. Cracks and erosions. One breast has benefited from reconstruction.
Hierarchical and authoritarian, composed of fearsome warriors, Yaka society was governed by lineage chiefs who had the right of life and death over their subjects. Hunting and the prestige that comes from it are an opportunity today for the Yaka to invoke their ancestors and to resort to rituals using charms linked to the "khosi" institution. The youth initiation society, the n-khanda, found among the Eastern Kongo (Chokwe, Luba, etc.), uses various charms and ...

Anthropomorphic figure representing a stocky subject, whose arms form growths hugging the bust. This character, which refers to a proverb known to insiders, wears a hood made of animal skin. Beautiful patina of use, slight chips and cracks.
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 ...

Naturalism treated with care for this standing statuette, flanked by long arms away from the bust. The refined details distinguish this work embellished with colorful ornaments. Smooth satin patina.
Neighbors of the Yaka and the Kongo in the west of the former Zaire, the Zombo fear, like the Kongo clans, the god named Nzambi< /i>. Their diviners use fetishes similar to those of the Kongo, the ceremonies associated with the initiation rites, however, stem from Yaka traditions. Fetish carvings are used by the ngangas to protect against bad luck, to heal or to bring about luck, wealth and fertility. Their polychrome masks have very large bleached eye sockets.

This stylized African sculpture is of the Obamba type from Haut-Ogooué. This type of statue forms a stylized emblem for the clan. Among the Kota, this type of effigy was used to guard the mortuary relics of ancestors of high lineage, fragments of bones placed for this purpose in baskets made of wickerwork or bark.
In the exclusive presence of initiates of the bwete cult, the major decisions of the clan were taken during ceremonies during which the reliquaries were taken out and used.
In order to reactivate its magical charge, the initiates rubbed the relic with sand. Sacrifices and offerings were then administered in order to protect the community or family from harmful forces.