African Arts Gallery

Weapons, jewelry, coins, metal objects are inseparable from traditional African art. Metallurgy is intimately associated with the founding myths of many African cultures, such as blacksmiths turned kings (Zaire), the anvil hammer being the symbol of power among the Luba. Cult accessories, the metal alloy gongs, some highly decorated, take on a wide variety of shapes. This double gong, in its simplicity, was a sacred instrument and the emblem of one of the many male societies of the peoples of Grassland, the Kwifoyn, whose headquarters adjoined the royal palace. The tinkling of wooden rods on hollow metal announced the beginning of ceremonies: communication with the supernatural world, ancestors, deities, could be established. Also prestigious objects, they accompanied the respect due to ...

Ex-French tribal art collection.
Etoning Mumuye figures of African art
Among the diversity of Mumuye statues, varying according to the villages, certain features are recurrent: an extremely purified, stretched morphology, and a relative absence of ornamentation.  The arms of this statue frequently detach from the bust, bent in this case, and an arch stylization of the lower limbs is noteworthy, all reflecting a dynamism.  The proportionally small head has a face with sketchy features, a neutral appearance, and round eyes.   The barely distinct reminder of ethnic scarifications results in numerous parallel incisions of the bust and headdress. The conical headdress, flanked by wide "ears" in side panels framing a neck stretched like a column, would rather evoke a warrior helmet.  ...

This primitive African currency takes the form of a flared blade under which volute arms emerge. The surface is hammered with notches forming a regular relief. The lower base, at the tip, could be recorded in the ground. In Africa, before the colonial period, payments were never made in coins. Transactions were made using cauris, pearls, cattle, kola nuts, but also metals, including iron in particular. These primitive currencies were used in trade, social exchanges, for dowries in particular, but could also constitute objects of parade or throw weapons. In Sierra Leone, goods were assessed against iron bars called barriferri. The king generally controlled the production or delivery of the kingdom's currency. The variety of these metallic forms is wide, and these sometimes take on the ...

Two spirals on either side of a tip form the handle of this weapon. The blade that continues at the tip bears fine patterns in parallel and broken lines. Oxidized granular patina. This piece is thought to be of Chamba origin in Nigeria.
Installed since the 17th century on the south bank of the Benue river in Nigeria, the Chamba have resisted attempts to conquer the Fulani, nomads who settled in large numbers in northern Nigeria. They are known for their famous buffalo mask with its two flat jaws extending the head. The less frequent statuary is divided into protective figures (tauwa, sing. tau) which are kept in a box to the left of the entrance of the concession, and in statues of ancestors, kona. In Africa, before the colonial period, payments were never made in coins. ...

"Ex-collection English African art

It is in a room of the house reserved for this purpose that the great families of Benin (former Dahomey) kept portable altars made from pieces of metal. Asen, these sticks were created for each ancestor, serving as go-betweens between the world of the living and the dead, and prayers and offerings were made during a ceremony called "ahanbiba" during the dry season. An Asen was dedicated to an ancestor and dedicated sacrifices throughout the year, and among the Yoruba in neighboring Nigeria, these sticks were emblems depicting birds. for divination ceremonies related to the god of herbalists and occult sciences, Osanyin, or that of divination, Orunmila. a central shaft, overcoming a cup, eight rods support a circular platform having a skit. ...

This piece of currency is formed by two big iron bars twisted together like a rope-like shape. This model circulated in Nigeria in the pré-colonial years.

French African art collection.
Arms, jewellery, coins, metal objects are inseparable from traditional African art. Metallurgy is intimately associated with the founding myths of many African cultures, such as blacksmiths turned kings (Zaire), the anvil hammer being the symbol of power among the Luba. Cult accessories, the metal alloy gongs, some highly decorated, take on a wide variety of shapes. This double gong, in its simplicity, was a sacred instrument and the emblem of one of the many male societies of the peoples of Grassland, the Kwifoyn, whose headquarters adjoined the royal palace. The tinkling of wooden rods on hollow metal announced the beginning of ceremonies: communication with the supernatural world, ancestors, deities, could be established. Also prestigious objects, ...