African Arts Gallery

Ibeji statuettes, incarnation of the missing child in African Yoruba art. Large almond-shaped eyes, facial scarifications, braided hairstyles and similar physiognomies make up the aesthetic traditions of African Yoruba art. Shiny black patina, indigo highlights, minor cracks.
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 as 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 ...

Contemporary artists from South Africa create dolls filled with a multitude of glass beads. Touching and decorative, these works also alternate various metal elements and shells, highlighting the skill and creative sense of their designers.

During the 19th century, tribes united to form the group called Zulu, whose local chiefs, led by the king, are called iduma. Their society is that of warriors organized into age groups. It was in 1884 that they were annexed by the English. Skilled in making ornaments, the Zulus work with leather, metal and ceramics, adding feathers and beads. Pearls, while having a protective role, indicate the social situation of those who wear them.

The dolls of the Namji or Dowayo , a people of animist mountain people living in northern Cameroon, have recently become known. This stylized anthropomorphic figure, standing on bowed legs that the shoulders reproduce, has a long neck and a reduced head, topped with a crest. Fine necklaces of glass beads encircle the body and a small sachet-talisman accompanies the ornaments.
Glossy, velvety patina.
These African tribal dolls are carved in wood by the blacksmith, initially for the play of little girls. But these dolls are mainly used by sterile women in complex fertility rituals, the doll becoming a surrogate child that they will treat as such. In some cases the groom offered it to his future wife, the doll representing their future offspring. The decoration of the doll can ...

Used among the Ashanti and Fantis of Ghana, Akuaba (plural Akua'mma)doll statuettes are amulets used by Ashanti women to promote fertility. They are easily identified by their stylized appearance. Their flat and circular head has a high forehead occupying the upper part, the features are generally drawn in the lower third of the head. A mark of beauty, the often ringed neck also symbolizes prosperity.
Worn on the back of women, these statues are also accompanied by various rites, such as the ingestion of a potion, or the placing of the object on the family altar. After the birth of the child, the sculpture is used as a toy, and sometimes still offered to the healer to witness its effectiveness. Orange patina.

Used among the Ashanti and Fantis of Ghana, Akuaba (plural Akua'mma) doll statuettes are amulets used by Ashanti women to promote fertility. They are easily identifiable thanks to their stylized appearance. A mark of beauty, the ringed neck also symbolizes prosperity. Carried on the backs of women, these statues are also accompanied by various rites, such as the ingestion of a potion, or the placing of the object on the family altar. After the birth of the child, the sculpture is used as a toy, and sometimes still offered to the healer in order to witness its effectiveness. Orange-brown nuanced matte patina. Abrasions.
This people considers the woman as the final arbiter of all decisions. Fertility and children are the most common themes evoked in Ashanti woodcarvings. This ...

Belgian African art collection
The Zaramo and the tribes that surround them, such as the Kwéré and the Doé, designed African dolls generally associated with fertility, but to which other virtues would be attributed. Its primary role is played during the period of confinement of the young initiate Zaramo. The novice will behave towards the object as with a child, and will dance with it during the closing ceremonies of the initiation. In case the young woman does not conceive, she will adopt the "child". Among the Zaramo, this carved motif is repeated on the top of canes, decorates ritual objects and even appears on burial posts. The shape is recurrent, a stylized head, topped with a double or single crest surmounting a tubular bust devoid of arms on which a slight relief indicates ...

The Zaramo and the tribes around them have designed dolls generally associated with fertility, but to which other virtues would be attributed. Its primary role is played during the period of imprisonment of the young zaramo insider. The novice will behave with regard to the object as with a child, and will dance with him during the closing ceremonies of the initiation. If the young woman does not conceive, she will adopt the child. In the Zaramo, this sculpted motif is taken up at the top of the canes, decorates ritual objects and even appears on burial poles. The shape is recurrent, a stylized head, with a dobule or single crest, overcoming a tubular bust devoid of arms where the breasts and umbilical are indicated by a slight relief. The use of pearls is common in the ornamention of the ...

The Zaramo and the tribes that surround them, such as the Kwéré and the Doé, designed dolls generally associated with fertility, but to which other virtues would be attributed. Its primary role is played during the period of confinement of the young initiate Zaramo. The novice will behave towards the object as with a child, and will dance with it during the closing ceremonies of the initiation. In case the young woman does not conceive, she will adopt the "child". Among the Zaramo, this carved motif is repeated on the top of canes, decorates ritual objects and even appears on burial posts. The shape is recurrent, a stylized head, topped with a double or single crest surmounting a tubular bust without arms on which a slight relief indicates the breasts and the umbilicus. Heterogeneous ...

The silhouette of the African dolls of the Zaramo and Kwéré is recurrent, a stylized human form, topped with a double or single crest surmounting a tubular bust without arms where the breasts and umbilicus are indicated by a slight relief. The use of pearls is also frequent in the ornamentation of Zaramo statuary. Lustrous patina of use. Cracking
The Zaramo and the tribes that surround them, such as the Kwéré and the Doé, have designed dolls generally associated with fertility, but to which other virtues are attributed. Its primary role is played during the period of seclusion of the young Zaramo initiate. The novice will behave towards the object as she would towards a child, and will dance with it during the closing ceremonies of the initiation. In the event that the ...

Polished by grasping and ritual anointing, this African doll associated with fertility (biiga) was sculpted by a blacksmith from Burkina Faso. This type of statuette is offered to girls, as to boys, by their parents. Light brown patina. Desication erosions and cracks.
The hope of a pregnancy is accompanied in certain groups by initiation rites. Wooden figures are then carved, some reflecting both genders, in many cases clothed in beads and clothes. During the period of confinement, the doll, which becomes a child who asks to be fed, washed and anointed on a daily basis, becomes the girl's only companion. After the initiation, they will be carried on the women's backs, or tied around their necks. The wealthiest Mossi buy plastic dolls. The doll will not be abandoned after the ...

Ex-collection African art from Belgium.
This is a reduction figure of the niombo, a sometimes giant funerary anthropomorphic "bundle" representing the deceased, buried at funerals during ancestor cults. The doll is made of a wickerwork frame dressed in textile. It was kept in the house of the chiefs. The Vili, the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembé, the Bwende, the Yombé and the Kôngo constituted the Kôngo group, led by the king ntotela. Their kingdom reached its peak in the 16th century with the ivory and copper trade and the slave trade. With the same beliefs and traditions, they produced a statuary with a codified gesture in relation to their vision of the world. The sculptures of the Bwendé were strongly inspired by those of the neighboring Beembe.

This childlike puppet-like head forms a reduction of the famous niombo , a funerary anthropomorphic "package", sometimes of giant size, representing the deceased among the Bwende. The niombo was buried at funerals during ancestor cults. It is made of a wickerwork frame, swaddled with textile, and was kept in the house of the chiefs. The Vili, the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembé, the Bwende, the Yombé and the Kôngo constituted the Kôngo group, led by the king ntotela. Their kingdom reached its peak in the 16th century with the ivory and copper trade and the slave trade. With the same beliefs and traditions, they produced a statuary with a codified gesture in relation to their vision of the world. The sculptures of the Bwendé were strongly inspired by those of the neighboring ...

Ibeji statuettes, incarnation of the missing child in African Yoruba art.
Large almond-shaped eyes, notched scarifications on the face, braids collected in a crest generally illustrate the aesthetic traditions of African Yoruba art. This female effigy wears necklaces of pearls and cowries and a wooden torque. These adornments had a protective function. Shiny 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 as much more than a physical ...

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.

Ibeji, substitute images in African art.
Traditionally carved from iroko, the roots and leaves of which are also used for ritual purposes, this twin 'ere' (statue) figure wears metal adornments. Semi-satin mahogany patina. Desication crack.
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. Thisibedji is then treated as the missing child would have been. It is the mother who must take care of him; she can wash and feed him regularly. If she dies, the remaining twin takes over. It also happened that a man had ibeji carved for his wife in order to induce pregnancy. Support for the soul of the twin, the ibeji influences the life of the family, becoming a source of benefits for his parents, the ...

Used among the Ashanti and Fantis of Ghana, Akuaba (plural Akua'mma) doll statuettes are amulets used by Ashanti women to promote fertility. They are easily identifiable thanks to their stylized appearance. A mark of beauty, the ringed neck also symbolizes prosperity. Carried on the backs of women, these statues are also accompanied by various rites, such as the ingestion of a potion, or the placing of the object on the family altar. After the birth of the child, the sculpture is used as a toy, and sometimes still offered to the healer in order to witness its effectiveness. Speckled matte patina in an ocher brown-grey hue. Abrasions, small accidents.
This people considers the woman as the final arbiter of all decisions. Fertility and children are the most common themes evoked ...

Prolific African art of the Makonde Doll statuettes with realistic faces and sketchy stylized bodies, featuring traditional tattoos, which were traced with beeswax. The scarified patterns were also printed for aesthetic purposes. The female ancestor refers to the creation in which the first Makonde man is said to have carved a female image that became the mother of his children and has been venerated ever since. Glossy patina, burgundy brown. The Makonde, a matrilineal Bantu population of northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania, wore helmet-masks called lipiko, mapiko, during initiation ceremonies for young men. The Makonde venerate an ancestor , which explains the abundance of relatively naturalistic female statuary. In addition to facial masks, midimu , the Makonde also ...

This stylized female figure, Akua'ba (plural Akua'mma), has features specific to Ashanti bust dolls: a flat, circular head surmounting a cylindrical bust with horizontal arms. Thin necklaces of colored pearls contrast with the black patina. These stylized wooden effigies were worn by pregnant women, tight in their loincloth, to ensure the arrival of beautiful children. The overwhelming majority of these statues are female, with breasts.

The Ashanti are one of the ethnic groups of Ghana (former "Gold Coast"), part of the Akan group, living in a region covered of forests. Just like other people living in the central and southern part of Ghana, she speaks a language of the Twi group. This people considers the woman as the final arbiter of all decisions. Fertility and children are ...

Ex-collection of French African art.
This stylized female African figure, Akua'ba (plural Akua'mma), has features specific to Ashanti bust dolls: a flat, circular head surmounting a cylindrical bust with horizontal arms. Thin necklaces of colored pearls contrast with the orange patina. These stylized wooden effigies were worn by pregnant women, tight in their loincloth, to ensure the arrival of beautiful children. The overwhelming majority of these statues are female, with breasts.

The Ashanti are one of the ethnic groups of Ghana (former "Gold Coast"), part of the Akan group, living in a region covered of forests. Just like other people living in the central and southern part of Ghana, she speaks a language of the Twi group. This people considers the woman as the final ...

African Fanti art is illustrated by its fertility dolls worn by pregnant women, who must not lay eyes on a deformed being for fear of conceiving such a child. On the other hand, looking at these dolls, expressions of idealized beauty, they are supposed to favor the appearance of their future children.
This limbless statuette is adorned with fine glass bead necklaces and has a medium brown patina. These dolls carved among the Fante or Fanti, an Akan population of the coastal regions of Ghana, the former Gold Coast, form a different version of those of the Ashanti. Their function is however more or less similar. The head here adopts a rectangular shape.

Intervening among the Ashanti and the Fantis of Ghana, the African doll statuettes Akuaba (plural Akua'mma) form stylized amulets supposed to increase the fertility. The flat and circular head remains a constant. A mark of beauty, the ringed neck symbolizes prosperity.
Brown patina with orange reflections.br /> Carried on the backs of women, these statues are also accompanied by various rites, such as the ingestion of a potion, or the placing of the object on the family altar. After the birth of the child, the sculpture is used as a toy, and sometimes still offered to the healer in order to witness its effectiveness.