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African art items:


We offer you a large selection of unique pieces of African art. Coming from private collections or purchased directly “in situ”, these works are the subject of a special study to determine their provenance as well as their conditions of acquisition. We make it a point of honor to offer our customers quality works of African art, old or contemporary, acquired within the framework of an ethical market. It is the history of these pieces that we invite you to discover through our gallery and websites.

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League figurines
African art > African statues : tribal fetish, maternity > League figurines

Petie zoomorphic figure, she belonged to an insider of the Bwami and was part of a set used during the initiations. The animal world was indeed widely represented in the educational metaphors that made up the teaching of Bwami. Insiders sought to appropriate the qualities of the animals that inhabited their environment. The objects were passed down from generation to generation, such as this honey-coloured sculpture, patinated by gripping, and whose tapestry nails indicate the eyes.
The Teacher of the Bwami guided the aspiring lega to a place where African lega masks and statuettes were exhibited, and it was through careful observation that the future initiate had to guess the more or less complex meaning of these objects, true metaphors largely referring to proverbs and sayings. ...


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125.00

Ekoi Mask
African art > African mask, tribal art, primitive art > Ekoi Mask

Volute cimiers in the African art of Ejagham/Ekoi

A conical base in basketry rises a wooden head stretched out of animal skin. Its headdress, usually composed of horns in volutes, is here topped with ventrus perosnnages. The dancer's costume consisted of a large lattice of raffia ropes, and more recently, cotton cloth. The masks were coated with palm oil before use, and placed in daylight so that their leather softened and adopted a satisfying luster. Leopard societies, such as the male society Kpe, Ngbe among the Aro, used this model of cimiers for initiation ceremonies or funerals of members of the association, but also during agricultural rituals. The hairstyle would represent that of the young women named Moninkim in the end of their traditional imprisonments during which ...


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490.00

Chibinda Ilunga Chokwe figure
African art > African statues : tribal fetish, maternity > Chibinda Ilunga Chokwe figure

Belgian African art collection.

This is a statuette of Chibinda Ilunga, founder of the Chokwé.
Here he is found sitting in a suit, arms bent, hands close to the body. The pitched back and raised chin indicate a proud and dominant attitude. Its very special headdress with two side parts and a curved penne towards the back makes it easy to recognize.


Peacefully settled in eastern Angola until the 16th century, the Chokwé were then subjected to the Lunda empire from which they inherited a new hierarchical system and the sanctity of power. Nevertheless, the Chokwes never fully embraced these new social and political contributions. Three centuries later, they eventually seized the capital of Lunda weakened by internal conflicts, thus contributing to the ...


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780.00

Etoffe Pongo of The Pygmies of Ituri
African art > Textiles, Kuba velvet, Ncak nsueha Bushoong > Textile Pongo

Ex-Swiss African art collection.

Produced by the pygmies of the Ituri forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, these woven fabrics made of ficus bark fibers were painted by women. The men cut wood and hammered the bark, and the women usually used a decoction of gardenia mixed with charcoal ash to draw with their fingers or plant stems patterns similar to the tattoos worn by the tribe members.
On this specimen on which the knots of the bark appear, the design is formed of lined patterns drawn on a brown background. The rhythm and the space created between the different signs would also have a link with the polyphonic songs with which the pygmies of Ituri address God. Soft touch texture.< The Mangbetu, in contact with the Asua pygmies, produced a similar type of ...

League Figurines
African art > African statues : tribal fetish, maternity > League Figurines

Small anthropomorphic sculpture in bust, used during the initiations to the Bwami, and whose face is similar to lega masks. Satin light brown patina. Residual kaolin inlays.
The teacher of the Bwami guided the aspiring lega to a place where African lega masks and statuettes were exposed, and it was through careful observation that the future initiate had to guess the more or less complex meaning of these objects, true metaphors largely referring to proverbs and sayings. Those who were not allowed to see the object, in order to be protected, had to submit to expensive ceremonies, and sometimes even join the lower rank of the Bwami, the kongabulumbu, at great expense to the families. Each of these initiations took place over seven days and featured at least seven performances. Items ...


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160.00

Ogbom Eket Statue
African art > African mask, tribal art, primitive art > Ogbom Eket Statue

This anthropomorphic dance crest features a face surmounting a stylized body composed of superimposed arcs anchored on a conical foot. Decorated with field diamonds whose once contrasting colours barely retain polychrome pigments, it remains extraordinarily expressive thanks to a concave face in which the bulging eyelids are modestly lowered. This mask was used during the Ogbom ceremonies. Thick crusty matte patina.
The Ekets are a subgroup of the Ibibio ethnic group known for its expressive masks. These Ogbom cimiers are among the most conceptual pieces of African art and relate to the most modernist expressions of the ancient statuary Eket.Il are open masks with a crusty patina and overhanging a human head. It should be noted that these masks can be feminine or male.


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530.00

Fang reliquaries
African art > Reliquaries, statues > Fang reliquaries

The African art of the cult of Byeri is illustrated by various anthropomorphic sculptures acting as 'guardians' and embodying the ancestor. Ancient loom pulleys fang, adorned with statuettes of reliquary keepers. Beautiful satin patina, residue of abrased polychromy. Erosions of use.
The boxes containing the relics of illustrious ancestors were kept by the oldest man in the village, the esa. Surmounted by a statue or head that acted as the guardian of the 'byeri' boxes, they were stored in a dark corner of the box, supposed to divert evil influences to someone else. They were also used during the initiation ceremonies of young people linked to society. So, so. During the holidays, the statues were separated from their boxes and paraded. Pre-events were carried out on some statues ...


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590.00

Dogon statue
African art > African statues : tribal fetish, maternity > Dogon statue

An ancestor figure illustrating one of the daily tasks of this people of the cliffs. At the neck, a korte necklace made up of amulets incorporating verses from the Qur'an testifies to the Muslim influence in the region. The surface was rubbed with ochre, probably for ritual purposes. This sculpture presents a matte wood, dessiquered and furrowed, pigmented with clay residues.
The Dogon are a people renowned for their cosmogony, their esotericism, their myths and legends. Their population is estimated at about 300,000 souls living southwest of the Niger Loop in mali's Mopti region (Bandiagara, Koro, Banka), near Douentza and part of northern Burkina (northwest of Ouahigouya). Villages are often perched atop scree at the hillside, according to a unique architecture. The history of ...


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490.00

Statue Dogon
African art > African statues : tribal fetish, maternity > Statue Dogon

This bombou-toro-style sculpture, with a hermaphrodite character, depicts an ancestor with a body engraved with linear scarifications bearing multiple bracelets. Desication cracks. Rather light golden brown patina.
Sculpted mostly by a family and in this case placed on the family altar Tiré Kabou, the Dogon tribal statues can also be the object of worship on the part of the whole community when they commemorate, for example, the founding of the village. These statues, sometimes embodying the nyama of the deceased, are placed on the altars of ancestors and participate in various rituals including those of the periods of seeds and harvests. Their functions, however, remain little known. Parallel to Islam, the Dogon religious rites are organized around four main cults: the Lebe, ...


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350.00

Baga Masks
African art > African mask, tribal art, primitive art > Baga Masks

Cut from light wood, these shoulder masks emanating from the Northern Baga and also used by the Nalu have a voluminous head with a buzzed nose evoking a bird's beak surmounting a tubular mouth, a long summit ridge, and wide horseshoe ears. A metal clipping, hidden by the grainy matte patina, highlights the eyes and face on which also emerge chevron stripes evoking traditional scarifications. These masks would embody an idealized baga woman, i.e. principles of fertility and abundance of harvests and occur during harvests, marriages or deaths.
Ex. Belgian collection Mercier.Granular surface, abrasions and desisication.
Mixed with Nalu and Landuman , Baga live along the coast of Guinea-Bissau in flooded swamp regions six months a year. They believe in a creative god called Nagu, ...


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Dogon zoomorphic neck support
African art > Head rest > Dogon zoomorphic neck support

Baraldi African Art Collection
A personal object intended to preserve the elaborate headdress, usually the crest, the role of the headrest was not only utilitarian. The head of the Dogon's spiritual leader, the Hogon, was never to touch the ground, otherwise there would be disastrous consequences.
The middle part of this beautiful object with its pure lines features a bird's beak, a volatile bird frequently represented on Dogon African artworks: while it is true that hens and guinea fowls make up the Dogon farmyard, Dogon mythology holds the duck for a member of the Hogon family. Two small triangles carved in the shape of a beak also decorate each end of the flat of the seat. The whole presents ornamental motifs such as parallel, crossed lines and triangular champlevé notches. ...


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190.00

Songye Nkisi Fetish
African art > The fetish, this emblematic object of primitive art > Songye Nkisi Fetish

Songye Nkisi Statue with a nice patina, traces of natural pigmentation. Part on which one finds constant graphics, linear scarifications, stops rectangular and nose in triangle. Originating in Shaba as a Democratic republic of Congo, Songye are related in Luba, with which they divide common ancestors.


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780.00

Statue Dogon
African art > African statues : tribal fetish, maternity > Statue Dogon

Ex-French African art collection.
Posture of a rider rather atypical for this female figure: perched in kneeling position, she also presents a face revealing a deep meditation. The beard suggests an ancestor hermaphrodite figuration, swollen belly pregnancy. According to Geneviève Calame-Griaule, these statuettes, associated with fertility and motherhood, named dege were intermediaries between men and spirits or geniuses. A dark brown patina covers the entire room whose wood bears the imprint of age: cracks and cracks. These statues, sometimes embodying the nyama of the deceased, are placed on altars of ancestors and participate in various rituals including those of periods of seeds and harvests. Parallel to Islam, dogon religious rites are organized around four main cults: the ...


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450.00

Luba Cariatid Taburet
African art > Chair, palaver seat, throne, stool > Luba Cariatid Taburet

Former Belgian private collection of African art J. Putteneers.

These pieces are identified as inspired by the works of buli's Master who developed this style in the mid-19th century. A set of pieces with the same aesthetic characteristics is indeed famous in the luba statuary and is to be attributed to a sculptor or group of sculptors, opinions diverging according to the authors, under the name "Master of Buli".

The Luba are renowned for their statuary and in particular their stools consisting of one or two cariatids holding, with the help of arms and their skulls, a circular seat.
Complex scarifications are engraved on the chest and arms of the female character. The facial features are typical as well as the headdress pulled backwards.

The Luba ...


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1750.00

Ambete Statues
African art > African statues : tribal fetish, maternity > Ambete Statues

The variety of reliquaries in the African art of the Mbede
The Mbete are known for their antropomorphic statues with a dorsal hollow as a reliquary participating in the worship of ancestors. These exceptionally well-preserved pieces are typical of african tribal art from the Mbete , Ambete . Their cylindrical abdomen contains a rectangular cavity on the back sealed by a door in which the bones of the lineage ancestors were preserved. Placed in the lower half of the head, under a broad triangular forehead, the face has a characteristic appearance, with cauris evoking narrow half-closed eyelids, a hollowed-out geometric mouth giving it a grimacing appearance. The hairstyle on which the braids are drawn is assembled in a summit crest. Attached to the bust, the arms are folded at a ...


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2450.00

Dogon Statue
African art > African statues : tribal fetish, maternity > Dogon Statue

Private collection Recupero
The wide variety of African art production Dogon.
Statue seated, hands resting on the thighs. The belly is prominent, in reference to fertility. Above the excessively stretched neck the face has an angular styling whose soaring shape of the nose is characteristic of the Dogon. The crested hairstyle is incised with rafters. Heavily eroded wood, clear patina.
The main dogon religious leaders are the Hogon, priests of the lebed cult, dedicated to agriculture. One of the most important ceremonies of the lebe is called bulu; it celebrates the renewal and return of life, and takes place in the spring. The ancestors are honored through the cult binu, and give their benevolence in turn to their descendants. Blacksmiths and woodcarvers form a separate ...


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490.00

Pair of shoulder masks Sukwava Wurkum
African art > African mask, tribal art, primitive art > Pair of shoulder masks Sukwava Wurkum

Ex Belgian private collection of African art J. Putteneers.

The Wurkum, like the Mumuye, have shoulder masks called Skuwava with an elongated neck topped by a head, sometimes miniaturized. Wurkum pieces are nevertheless more expressive than Mumuye pieces.
These imposing masks were traditionally worn during war preparation ceremonies but are now linked to healing and rain rituals.
These uncommon pieces come from the northern regions of the Benue Valley. The patina is smooth in coffee tones.


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1950.00