African Arts Gallery

Plastic roundels threaded on cotton thread, extended by a wooden amulet-pendant, miniature representation "mbuya" of a Pende mask. The ivory pendants were, until independence, a symbol of resistance to the colonial state.
The Western Pende live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the Easterners settled on the banks of the Kasai downstream from Tshikapa. The influences of the neighboring ethnic groups, Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salempasu are imprinted on their large tribal art sculpture. Within this diversity, the realistic Mbuya masks, produced every ten years, have a festive function and embody different characters, including the chief, the soothsayer and his wife, the prostitute, the possessed, etc. The initiation masks and those of power, the minganji, represent the ...

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 ...

In African art, sowei masks, the feminine ideal in the Mende culture, embody aquatic spirits. This African mask named Bundu shows a face nestled in a fleshy neck, a symbol of prosperity.
Painted black or stained with a leaf wash, the mask was then rubbed with palm oil. Matte grayish brown patina, minor cracks and abrasions.
The Mende, Vai and Gola cultures of Sierra Leone, Liberia and the west coast of Guinea are known for the helmet masks of the Sandé female initiation society that prepares young girls for marriage. The male society is the Poro society. Relatively rare in sub-Saharan Africa, these masks are made by men and worn by women.
("African art" Kerchache and "African masks from the Barbier-Mueller collection" coll. Adam Biro)

Stylized African art of the forest tribes.
African masks were brought to ceremonies, or reserved as protective amulets. Old and rare example offering inverted faces. Erosions. The Lengola, are established near the Metoko in the center of the Congolese basin between the Lomami and Lualaba rivers, people of the primary forest dedicated to the worship of a single God, monotheism rare in Africa. Their society, the Bukota, welcoming both men and women, is the equivalent of the Bwami association of the Lega. Their sculptures, subject to the influence of the neighboring Mbole, Lega and Binja, played a role during initiation, funeral or circumcision ceremonies, and were then placed on the tomb of high-ranking initiates. Each of these figures had a name and a meaning for educational ...

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 ...

French collection of African art
This African mask with cubist volumes is engraved with parallel stripes coated with white pigment. The bridge of the nose, flat and colored black, continues towards the skull. The half-closed eyelid slits are also extended in black towards the temples. A parallelepiped mouth juts out, forming a whisper calling for the silence of the initiated. A black band forms the chin, holes have been made around the edge to attach the raffia collar. There are some missing parts, at the back of the object and on one of the upper eyelids. Matte, dry and velvety patina. Object sold with its base. Three types of African Kifwebe art mask are listed: the masculine (kilume) generally with a high crest, the feminine (kikashi) would have a more modest crest or even ...

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.

African Art Songye
The African initiation masks of the Songye .
In the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo, this type of female mask "kalyanga" which offers finely striated planes accentuating its volumes, is still worn today with a long costume and a long beard of natural fibers, during masked rituals. Matte patina, minor abrasions and desiccation cracks.
Height on base: 60 cm. Three variants of this type of Kifwebe mask (pl. Bifwebe) or "hunting death" (Roberts) can be distinguished: the masculine (kilume) generally with a high crest, the feminine (kikashi) with a very low crest or even absent, and finally the largest embodying power (kia ndoshi). The Songye came from the Shaba region in the DRC and settled along the Lualaba River. They are governed by the yakitengé ...

Three variants of this mask Kifwebe ( pl. Bifwebe) or "chasing death" (Roberts), of the society of the same name, are distinguished: the masculine (kilume) generally with a high crest, the feminine (kikashi) with a very low or even absent crest, and finally the tallest embodying power (kia ndoshi). This type of mask, still used today, seems to come from the border zone between the northern Luba and the Southeastern Songye. They are worn by a Kifwebe dancer in a state of "bwadi" trances, accessorized with a long braided costume and a long adornment in natural fibers attached to the contours of the mask, during major ceremonies. Height on base: 36 cm.
The Songye came from the Shaba region in the DRC and settled along the Lualaba River in the middle of savannah and forests. They are ...

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)

Belgian African art collection.
African tribal art proves to us once again that any everyday object can become an artistic medium. The decorative aspect of an object is never its intrinsic function. In African art, any everyday object can be transformed into a masterpiece while retaining its usefulness. The major role played by women in the political life of the kingdom is illustrated by the recurrence of the feminine motif in Luba art. The latter, which stood out for its prestige and quality, therefore greatly influenced neighboring groups. This comb is carved with a protective effigy embodying a political and spiritual intermediary, a role held by women in Luba royalty. Her headdress, behind a wide headband revealing a shaved forehead, evokes one of those worn by Luba women at ...

French collection of African art
Height on base: 14 cm.
Greenish patien. The Dogon of Mali are known for their frequent representations of horsemen, which echo their cosmogony and their complex religious myths. According to these stories, one of the Nommos, ancestors of men, was resurrected by the creator god Amma and descended to earth carried by an ark transformed into a horse. In addition, during his enthronement, the highest religious authority of the Dogon people, the religious leader called Hogon, paraded on his mount, not being allowed to set foot on the ground according to custom. In the region of the Sangha cliffs, where access by horse is impossible, the priests carried him, evoking the mythical ancestor Nommo by neighing. The Dogon blacksmiths, forming an ...

French collection of African art Ancient traditional Mossi adornment that could also become money, as part of the dowry or various exchanges.
Upper Volta, Burkina Faso since independence, is made up of the descendants of the invaders, horsemen who came from Ghana in the 15th century, named Nakomse, and the Tengabibisi, descendants of the natives. Political power is in the hands of the Nakomse, who assert their power through statues, while the priests and religious leaders come from the Tengabisi, who use masks during their ceremonies. Animists, the Mossi worship a creator god named Wende. Each individual is said to have a soul, sigha, linked to a totemic animal.

Belgian collection of African tribal art .
This Bamoun rider on a rearing horse would represent King N'Doya in his victory over the Peuls, in the 19th century. A dark brown leather dresses the shapes of the character and his mount, a lighter leather sheaths the hooves. The king brandishes a broken spear. Dark patina, verdigris inlays.
The Bamun inhabit a region full of both wooded reliefs and savannahs. This large territory called Grassland located in the southwest of Cameroon is also the seat of other related ethnic groups such as the Bamiléké and the Tikar. Bamoun art is illustrated by bas-relief sculptures, depicting battles, festivals and hunts referring to the past, which adorn the doors and walls of buildings and palaces. Appearing in the 1920s, Bamoun wall art ...

This blade is extended by a pommel lined with copper. Oxidized metal, patina of use.

The Mongo group living in the northwest Congo, is famous for its costumes, its weapons, and its metal jewelry and not for its almost non-existent statuary. The Konda who used this type of short sword form one of the tribes of the group.
In Africa, before the colonial period, payments were never made in coins. Transactions were made using cowries, pearls, cattle, kola nuts, but also metals, especially iron. These primitive currencies were used during commercial and social exchanges, for dowries in particular, but could also come from objects of parade or throwing weapons. In Sierra Leone, goods were valued against iron bars called barriferri. In 1556 in Djenné Jean-Léon the African ...

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 ...

The African mask Mbole comes into play during the funeral of Lilwa dignitaries or is used by the blacksmith during circumcision rituals. The eyes and mouth are cut into the flat surface, the forehead and nose forming a slight relief. Polychrome matte patina.
Height on base: 44 cm.
The province of Lualaba had several close ethnic groups with similar associations. The Mbole and the Yela 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 breaches of the imposed rules, which however remained exceptional. These offenses ranged from murder to adultery to breaking the secrecy surrounding the lilwa. Dishonored, the bodies of the condemned ...

Prestigious furniture in African tribal art. This miniature stool named lupona, or kioni, kipona, kiona, depending on the source, constitutes the meeting point of the sovereign, his people, and the protective spirits and ancestors, where past and present mingle symbolically and spiritually. The subject would form the "receptacle of a deceased sovereign chief" (Luba, Roberts). The prominent scarifications converging towards the navel, "center of the world" associated with the lineage, testify to notions of fertility. It once formed the seat on which the king was enthroned. The seats were arranged on leopard skins during the investiture of the new chief. It was only after sitting on it that his speech took on a royal and divine character. Apart from these exceptional circumstances, the ...

African face mask Makonde associated with an ancestral spirit. This sculpture is characterized by a deeply sunken look highlighting the relief of the cheekbones and the ears placed in height. The hairstyle forms a double crest. A labret deforms the upper lip. Dark satin patina.
Height on base: 37 cm.

The Makonde of northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania wore helmet masks called lipiko during initiation ceremonies for young people. The Makonde venerate an ancestor, which explains the abundance of naturalistic female statuary. Besides the face masks worn during mapiko dances and ngoma ceremonies that educate young people about the demands of marriage and family life. the Makonde also produce body masks featuring the female bust. For the Makonde, the ancestors would return ...

Small anecdotal statuette describing a character carrying an ax and a bundle of wood. This statuette with many details is coated with a black patina encrusted with clear deposits.
Dogon blacksmiths form an endogamous caste among the Dogon called irim. They now produce weapons, tools, and also work with wood. "Masters of fire" associated in the Dogon cosmogony with the primordial beings "Nommo" created by the god Ama, they are also supposed to heal burns. Small metal objects, made using the lost-wax technique, were widespread in the Inner Niger Delta region, with copper reaching it through trans-Saharan trade. Excavations on the Bandiagara plateau have in fact brought to light vestiges of iron and steel sites prior to the 15th century, the date of the arrival of the Dogon. The ...

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 ...