African Arts Gallery

African everyday objects have always been mediums of choice for the artistic expression of African sculptors, and particularly in Côte d'Ivoire.
The rice spoons of the Baoulé, and the neighboring Dan, were not only intended to be offered to the most hospitable woman in the community, as a trophy. They were used during community meals closing traditional festivals and ritual ceremonies and were also used during fertility rituals: rice was then thrown on the crowd to ensure protection and fertility. The spoon is extended by a thick crenellated neck surmounted by a face with animal attributes. The latter is reminiscent of the traditional masks associated with the Goli.
Height on base: 49 cm. Patina and erosions from use.

Prestigious adornment in copper alloy, streaked with grooves, embellished with spirals, and furnished with points. This metal was supposed to take on a sacred and therefore protective character. Height on base: 23 cm.
Population established on both sides of the Black Volta in Burkina Faso and Mali, the Bwa generally distinguish three endogamous castes: blacksmiths, griots and farmers. Blacksmiths also work with wood, mediate in conflict, and mediate with the supernatural world. The African art sculptures of the Bobo, Bwa, Kurumba and Mossi, living in Burkina Faso, frequently take up and combine stylized elements borrowed from men, animals or even insects. It is the spirits of nature who are believed to determine an individual's well-being and prosperity, and adversity will be ...

This African sculpture naturalistic, allowing according to the Yoruba communication with the afterlife, features as a maternal figure one of the many female goddesses, the earth goddess Onilé ("owner of the House"), guarantor of longevity, peace, and resources, and linked to the powerful Ogboni society among the Yoruba Egba and Ijebu. It could also symbolize Orunmila , goddess of divination.
Intended to be enthroned on an altar, she was worshipped by members of the powerful Ogboni, or Osugbo, society in charge of justice.
Satin polychrome patina, abrasions.
Centered on the veneration of its gods, or orisà, the Yoruba religion relies on artistic sculptures with coded messages (aroko). The kingdoms of Oyo and Ijebu arose following the demise of the Ife ...

Devoid of the horn that rose from its skull, this anthropomorphic sculpture offers the peculiarity of a cylindrical bust, without arms, extended by a ringed neck bearing a massive head to the features of the large kifwebe mask of Songye. The latter has projection strokes. At the top remain resinous drippings mixed with ritual kaolin. A recurrence: oversized feet protruding from the circular base. Semi-mate patina, velvety. Abrasions, erosions and cracks.
These protective fetishes for homes are among the most popular in Africa. Nkisi plays the role of mediator between gods and men. Large specimens are the collective property of an entire village, while smaller figures belong to an individual or family. In the 16th century, the Songyes migrated from the Shaba region to settle on the ...

The sculpture features a face reminiscent of the kifwebe masks associated with the Bwadi ka bifwebe society. She is equipped with ritual accessories in the form of a skin bead usually containing a magical charge. A woven raffia loincloth wraps the waist. Libatory residue at the top. Light brown velvety patina, slight desiccation cracks.
The Songye fetish, magical sculpture Nkisi, nkishi (pl. mankishi ), plays the role of mediator between gods and men. The larger specimens are collectively owned by an entire village, while the smaller figures belong to an individual or a family. In the 16th century, the Songyes migrated from the Shaba region to settle in Kasai, Katanga and South Kivu. Their society is organized in a patriarchal manner. Their history is inseparable from that ...

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 ...

Naturalist sculpture comprising two subjects, one of which has a glazed cavity on the abdomen. This character could symbolize the clan. Brown satin patina, erosions and cracks.
A 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 Vili , the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembe, the Bwende, the Yombé and the Kôngo formed the Kôngo group, led by King ntotela . Their kingdom reached its peak in the 16th century with the trade in ivory, copper and the slave trade. With the same beliefs and traditions, they produced statuary endowed with codified gestures in keeping with their vision of the world.

Source:

Ex-Swiss African art collection.
In place of the magic charge U-002bibilongo" located on the abdomen, this naturalistic Kongo effigy has this time a protrusion adorned with a pattern forming a female sex. The distortion of the mouth evoking pain, it is probably a mediating figure, protective, therapeutic or associated with circumcision. The patina combining different shades of brown has acquired a satin feel. Desication grooves. The magic ingredients "bilongo" were frequently concealed in the receptacle on the abdomen of the face, which was otherwise sealed by a mirror. The sorcerers nganga, both healers, were in charge of religious activities and mediation with the God called Nzambi through consecrated figures. Aggressive witchcraft kindoki is the absolute evil that must be ...

The many carved objects are, among the Ngandi, related to hunting and magic. Some represent the Ngbirondo spirit and act as guardians of the village.
Funerary statues were also used, and sculptures of couple yangba and his sister, equivalent to the Seto and Nabo ancestors of the Ngbaka.

The Ngbaka form a homogeneous people in the north-west of the DRC, south of Ubangui. The Ngbandi live in the east (on the left bank of the Oubangui) and the Ngombe in the south. The initiation of young people, "gaza" or "ganza" (which gives strength) among the Ngbaka and the Ngbandi, has many similarities, through endurance tests, songs and dances. The rites required the presence of sculptures of ancestors.
Semi-matte patina, erosions.

Established on thick bent legs resting on large feet, this sculpture has a smooth, satiny, orange surface. Used as a pillow in order to preserve the capillary arrangements of the user, the African neckrest forms a tribal object decorated with various iconographies. These are related to spiritual forces believed to influence dreams. Large feet are said to symbolize territorial possession.

The Songye came from the Shaba region in the DRC and settled between the Lualaba River and the Sankuru River in the middle of savannah and forests. They are governed by the yakitenge and by local chiefs. The Bwadi secret society, however, counterbalances their power. Their male masks, with occult powers, were exhibited during punitive and disciplinary expeditions. Their appearances remained in ...

African mask of initiation, Mbuya, with deep notched eyelids, an upturned nose, and a narrow mouth revealing the upper dentition. Around a hooping of basketry, a canvas of raffia supports fibers arranged like hair. Two-tone satin patina. Height on base: 45 cm.
The Western Pende live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the Eastern ones have settled on the banks of the Kasai downstream from Tshikapa. The influence of neighboring ethnic groups, Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salempasu is imprinted on their large sculpture of tribal art. Within this diversity, the Mbuya masks, realistic, produced every ten years, take on a festive function, and embody different characters that are difficult to differentiate without their costume, including the chief fumu or ufumu, the diviner ...

Equipped with its pestle, this tobacco mortar accompanied, among other uses, rituals for ajimu spirits requiring the use of smoke. The carved figures evoke female masks mwana pwo associated with fertility and fecundity. Shaded lustrous patina.
. Peacefully settled in eastern Angola until the 16th century, the Chokwe were then subjected to the Lunda empire from which they inherited a new hierarchical system and the sacredness of power. Nevertheless, the Chokwe never fully adopted these new social and political contributions. Three centuries later, the Chokwe eventually took over the capital of the Lunda, which had been weakened by internal conflicts, thus contributing to the dismantling of the kingdom. The Chokwe did not have a centralized power but rather large chiefdoms. It was ...

Collection of African Belgian art.
An old grainy ocher patina covers these three Bambara animal sculptures in black iron. The mammal is a symbol of fertility and vigor.
Established in central and southern Mali, in a savannah zone, the Bambara, "Bamana" or "unbelievers", as the Muslims have named them, belong to the large Mande group, along with the Soninke and the Malinke. Mainly farmers, but also breeders, they make up the largest ethnic group in Mali. The Bambara nyamakala artisan groups, more specifically the blacksmiths named numu, are in charge of carving ritual objects, endowed with the nyama , occult energy. Using fire and magic items, they are further assigned the role of healer and diviner.
Their powers are passed on to their wives, who alone have the right to ...

Collection of Belgian African art.

The locks consist of a vertical element, and a horizontal slider. The surface of the object is engraved with friezes, while carved figures rise at the top.
Locally lightened brown patina.
The closure systems of the Sudanese regions contain characteristic elements of the Dogon cosmogony, according to which the first inhabitants of the Bandiagara area crossed the river on the back of a crocodile. The designs on doors in Mali are intended to deter intruders, whether human or animal, from entering. The locks, like the doors, are cut in wood chosen according to the function of the building in which they will be used. Because each plant is attributed specific virtues.

Widely used in Central Africa, this traditional African musical instrument or sanza consists of a sounding board to which parallel metal slats have been attached. The slats, of varying lengths, are sometimes made of bamboo. The thumbs of both hands will press on the board to vibrate the front ends of the strips. In Zaire, however, where all fingers are used as for the piano, groups of instruments play in complementary registers. The instrument will also sometimes accompany a singer.
This sanza is carved with a face and traditional decorative motifs.
Oiled brown patina, matt. Abrasions.

The ritual consumption of palm wine in an individual cut, Kopa, Koopha, was the prerogative of the lineage leader or the matrilineal supreme leader at ceremonies, such as a wedding. It was then passed on to the next generation. Refined cup whose grip has satin the surface, it integrated into the treasure of regalia, objects of prestige symbolizing the status and reserved for the chieftaincy.
Symbols in the form of summary incisions are engraved between the two spouts. Patina nuanced. Similar models called koopha were used by the Yaka (Fig.6 p.17 in "Yaka" ed 5Continents.) The Suku and Yaka ethnic groups, established in a region between the Kwango and Kwilu rivers, in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo, recognize common origins and have some similar social structures and ...

French African Tribal Art Collection.
Adorned with a habit of pearls and strips of leather laid out with regularity, animated by arms represented by straps and cowries, this African doll in wood from the Namji or < b> Dowayo , an animist mountain people living in the north of Cameroon, compose a refined version of a traditional African doll.
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 also reproduce the finery of the new initiates after ...

This type of protective fetish is called kakudji among the Hemba. A magical charge was frequently added, placed on the subject's head.
Lustrous black brown patina, minor abrasions and crazing.
Migratory flows have mixed within the same territories Bembe, Lega, Buyu (Buye) or Boyo, Binji and Bangubangu. The Basikasingo, considered by some to be a Buyu sub-clan, are however not of Bembe origin, Biebuyck's work having made it possible to trace their history. Organized into lineages, they borrowed the association of Bwami from the Lega. The Bembe and Boyo tribal traditions are relatively similar: they venerate the spirits of nature, water specifically among the Boyo, but also the heroic ancestors, whose will we seek to know by means of divinatory rites. The hunt is also an ...

The tribes of the south-eastern region of the DRC, around Lake Tanganyika, such as the Tumbwe and the Tabwa, worship the ancestors mipasi through sculptures held by chiefs or sorcerers. A magic charge ( dawa ) was often introduced at the top of the head of the statues, which is not the case here. Soothsayers-healers used this type of object to reveal witchcraft and protect against malevolent spirits. According to some, the Lubas sculpted for the Tumbwe.
This graceful sculpted figure depicting a very young woman wearing a long braid has a round head and protruding eyes. The narrow bust, leaning forward, is extended by short spread legs, established on a circular base. Grey-brown, matte and velvety patina. Source: "Treasures of Africa" ed. Tervuren Museum.

This African mask of the Fang illustrates one of the many stylistic variations of the Fang masks of the Ngil, distinguished by their austere physiognomy. The crested hairstyle takes up one of the many models once worn by the Fang. Locally abraded bleached patina, colored highlights. Erosions and cracks.
The appearance of these masks generally coated with kaolin (the white color evokes the power of the ancestors), in the middle of the night, could cause terror. This type of mask was used by the male ngil society which no longer exists today. This secret society was in charge of initiations and fought against witchcraft. The ngil was a rite of purifying fire symbolized by the gorilla. The wearers of these masks, always in large numbers, appeared at night, lit by torches. Their ...

Contemporary artists in 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.