ADOUMA

Gabon

This ethnic group is located in the Ogooue River region in Gabon. The Duma were the great boatmen of the Ogooue. They believe in a God who made the world, in an immortal soul and in retribution for evil; they worship spirits and ghosts, and are under the sway of sorcerers and secret societies, to which even the authority of their chiefs must yield. Remarkable are their masks with flat surface for face, domed forehead, an angular nose, an interesting interplay of flat, convex, and angular forms. These masks are mostly polychrome, some with a painted design pattern. For the last half-century these masks have been used for celebratory dances associated with the major social rituals. Their former role is less well documented.

Duma Mask

Material:wood, straw

Size:21" x 11" x 7"

The Duma masks are mostly polychrome. For the last half-century these masks have been used for celebratory dances associated with major social rituals. Their former role is less well documented.

Material: wood, tissue, feathers

Size: 14" x 4" x 2"

Remarkable are the Duma masks with flat surface for face, domed forehead, an angular nose, and skillful interplay of flat, convex, and angular forms. The masks of the Duma are mostly polychrome. For the last half-century these masks have been used for celebratory dances associated with major social rituals.

Material: wood

Size: 13 x 9" x 2"

AMBETE (MBETE, MBEDE, MBETE)
Republic of Congo, Gabon

The Mbete claiming a Kota origin live in the middle part of the Republic of Congo near the frontier of Gabon and in eastern Gabon. In view of the shifting location of the peoples living in this region, it is impossible to retrace the precise history of the Mbete culture. Certain ethnological and sociological aspects of their life are relatively well known, and we know that the secret societies were numerous and powerful. The Mbete do not have any centralized political organization; they practice ancestor worship.

They carved three types of sculpture: heads, busts and full figures. The latter are thought to have a connection with the ancestor’s cult – they were either used as reliquaries or placed alongside ancestor bones in a basket. The massive reliquary figures, statues and masks of the Mbete are cubist in structure, the stepped hair-dress having clearly-marked gradations, and the face frequently being painted white.

Heads and busts were probably positioned on poles and placed in front of the chief’s house. They may have had an apotropaic and emblematic purpose. Statues are provided with a dorsal, rectangular cavity, or the body itself may be in the shape of a reliquary chest. The relics could be set inside the statue. The arms are often fixed to the body and the hands and feet barely discernible.

Generally the head alone is sculpted in the round, the arms and lower extremities only roughly carved out. The faces of the Mbete statues show a prominent forehead overhanging a hollow receding face with a rectangular mouth and broadly carved features, so that the original tree-trunk form is still visible. The shoulders are thrown forward, the arms bent. Frequently, the hairdo, composed of horizontal loops, is parted by a central crest.

Reliquary Statue. The Mbete are situated on the border between the Middle Congo and Gabon, east of the Obamba. In view of the shifting location of the peoples living in the Ogoue basin (Gabon), it is impossible to retrace the precise history of the Mbete culture. Certain ethnological and sociological aspects of their life are relatively well known, and we know that the secret societies were numerous and powerful. The Mbete do not have any centralized political organization; they practice ancestor worship, but do not employ reliquary boxes. Instead, statues are provided with a dorsal cavity, or the body itself may be in the shape of a reliquary chest. This figure has definitely connection with the ancestor’s cult. The arms and hands are fixed to the body. It is hollowed out at the back of the statue into which the relics were placed.

Material: wood, raffia

Size: 15" x 7" x 7"

ATTYE (AKYE, AKE, ANKYE, ATIE, ATTIE, ATYE)

Côte d’Ivoire

The eastern coast of the Côte d'Ivoire comprises the area of lagoons. The population here is divided into twelve different language groups with Akye being one of them. The Akye numbering 55,000 constitute a part of the Akan group of ethnicities. Before colonization each village was autonomous and, when threatened, they united to form a 'confederation'. Usually these people are not governed by chiefs, although a man's social position is determined by his age.

Early Akan economics revolved primarily around the trade of gold and enslaved peoples to Mande and Hausa traders within Africa and later to Europeans along the coast. This trade was dominated by the Asante who received firearms in return for their role as middlemen in the slave trade. These were used to increase their already dominant power. Local agriculture includes cocoa cultivation for export, while yams and taro serve as the main staples. Along the coast, fishing is very important. The depleted forests provide little opportunity for hunting. Extensive markets are run primarily by women who maintain considerable economic power, while men engage in fishing, hunting and clearing land. Both sexes participate in agricultural endeavors.

Royal membership among Akan is determined through connection to the land. Anyone who traces descendence from a founding member of a village or town may be considered royal. Each family is responsible for maintaining political and social order within its confines. In the past, there was a hierarchy of leadership that extended beyond the family, first to the village headman, then to a territorial chief, then to the paramount chief of each division within the Asante confederacy. The highest level of power is reserved for the Asanthene, who inherited his position along matrilineal lines. The Asantahene still plays an important role in Ghana today, symbolically linking the past with current Ghanaian politics.

Akan believe in a supreme god who takes on various names depending upon the particular region of worship. Akan mythology claims that at one time the god freely interacted with man, but that after being continually struck by the pestle of an old woman pounding fufu, he moved far up into the sky. There are no priests that serve him directly, and people believe that they may make direct contact with him. There are also numerous gods (abosom), who receive their power from the supreme god and are most often connected to the natural world. These include ocean and river spirits and various local deities. Priests serve individual spirits and act as mediators between the gods and mankind. Nearly everyone participates in daily prayer, which includes the pouring of libations as an offering to both the ancestors who are buried in the land and to the spirits who are everywhere. The earth is seen as a female deity and is directly connected to fertility and fecundity.

Woodcarving includes human statues, stools, which are recognized as "seats" of power, wooden dolls (akua’ba) that are associated with fertility, and also ivory and brass objects. Lost-wax casting processes were highly developed among the Akan – both gold and brass were caste. There are also extensive traditions of pottery and weaving throughout Akan territory. Kente cloth, woven on behalf of royalty, has come to symbolize African power throughout the world.

Standing and seated statues with bulbous arms and legs produced by the Akye show strong Baule influence, but they are very marked by their distinctive style. Often the hairdo is geometric. What is unusual is that the relief scarification marks are achieved by insertion of small wooden plugs into the carving. Representing the forces of female fecundity, these statues were used in rituals to make these forces work. This type of statue was known under the tribal name of alangua.

Alangua - ceremonial female figure. The eastern coast of the Côte d'Ivoire comprises the area of lagoons, where the population is divided into twelve different language groups with Akye being one of them. Usually chiefs do not govern these people, although a man's social position is determined by his age. This statue came from the Lagoon region of the southeastern Côte d’Ivoire and may be attributed to the Akye. The statues of this type were used in many different ways. The figure could have been owned by a diviner, for use in conveying messages to the spirit world, or it may have been prescribed by the diviner to the client. Alternatively, it could have been intended to represent (and house) a man’s ‘spirit lover’ from the other world or it may have been displayed at certain traditional dances.

Material: wood

Size: 14" x 5" x 5"

Alangua - ceremonial female figure. The eastern coast of the Côte d'Ivoire comprises the area of lagoons, where the population is divided into twelve different language groups with Akye being one of them. This statue came from this region and may be attributed to the Akye. Usually chiefs do not govern these people, although a man's social position is determined by his age. Widespread in Lagoon societies is the belief that when people are born into the world they leave behind a spirit counterpart, or “lover”, in the other world. This counterpart may become jealous and cause his or her earthly part impotence, infertility or other misfortune. As part of the cult individuals lavish attention on beautiful images of their spirit counterparts. The statues of this type were used in many different ways. The figure could have been owned by a diviner, for use in conveying messages to the spirit world, or it may have been prescribed by the diviner to the client. Alternatively, it could have been intended to represent (and house) a man’s “spirit lover” from the other world or it may have been displayed at certain traditional dances. In either case it would have been consecrated to serve as a dwelling place for a spirit.

Material: wood

Size: 12" x 5" x 5"

ASHANTI (ASANTE,ACHANTI, ASHANTE)

Ghana
The Asante region of southern Ghana is a remnant of the Ashanti Empire, which was founded in the early 17th century when, according to legend, a golden stool descended from heaven into the lap of the first king, Osei Tutu. The stool is believed to house the spirit of the Ashanti people in the same way that an individual's stool houses his spirit after death.

The Asante number 1.5 million. The early Asante economy depended on the trade of gold and enslaved peoples to Mande and Hausa traders, as well as to Europeans along the coast. In return for acting as the middlemen in the slave trade, the Asante received firearms, which were used to increase their already dominant power, and various luxury goods that were incorporated into Asante symbols of status and political office. The forest surrounding the Asante served as an important source of kola nuts, which were sought after for gifts and used as a mild stimulant among the Muslim peoples to the north. In traditional Asante society, in which inheritance was through the maternal line, a woman's essential role was to bear children, preferably girls.

The art of Ashanti can be classified into two main groups: metalwork (casts of brass or gold using a lost-wax method and objects made of hammered metal sheets) and woodcarvings. Fertility and children are the most frequent themes in the wooden sculptures of the Asante. Thus the most numerous works are akua’ba fertility figures and mother-and-child figures called Esi Mansa. The acua’ba are dolls with disk-shaped heads embodying their concept of beauty and carried by women who want to become pregnant and to deliver a beautiful child. The fame of these objects derives from a legend asserting that a woman who has worn one will give birth to a particularly beautiful daughter. A Ghanaian source indicates another use: when a child disappeared, the acua’ba statue was placed with food and silver coins at the edge of the forest to attract the malevolent spirit responsible: the spirit would then exchange the child for the statue. Sculptured mother-and-child figures show the mother nursing or holding her breast. Such gestures express Asante ideas about nurturing, the family, and the continuity of a matrilineage through a daughter or of a state through a son. The mother-and-child figures are kept in royal and commoner shrines where they emphasize the importance of the family and lineage. The Asante are famous for their ceremonial stools carved with an arched sit set over a foot, referring to a proverb or a symbol of wisdom. They are usually made for a chief when he takes office and are adorned with beads or copper nails and sheets. In rare cases, when the chief is sufficiently important, the stool is placed in a special room following his death to commemorate his memory. Asante chairs are based on 17^th-century European models and, unlike stools, do not have any spiritual function. They are used as prestige objects by important chiefs during festivities or significant gatherings.

Also are produced staffs for royal spokesmen, which, like the handles of state swords, are covered in gold foil. The success of the Ashanti Empire depended on the trade in gold not only with Europeans at the coast but also with the Muslim north. Gold dust was the currency, weighed against small brass weights that were often geometric or were representations recalling well-known proverbs. Asante weavers developed a style of weaving of great technical mastery, incorporating imported silk. The Asante developed remarkably diverse kuduo containers cast of copper alloys. Kuduo were used in many ways. They held gold dust and other valuables, but could also be found in important political and ritual contexts. Some kuduo were buried with their owners, while others were kept in the palace shrine rooms that housed the ancestral stools of deceased state leaders. Life and the afterlife, the present and the past, were enhanced and made more meaningful by the presence of these elegant prestige vessels. The Asante also cast fine gold jewelry, as do the Baule of Côte d'Ivoire, who separated from them in the mid-18th century. The deceased are honored by fired-clay memorial heads.

Akua’ba Doll

Material: wood

Size: 18" x 6" x 5"

Akua’ba Dolls. In traditional Ashanti society, in which inheritance was through the maternal line, a woman's essential role was to bear children, preferably girls to continue the matrilineage. Fertility and children are the most frequent themes in the wooden sculptures of the Asante. Such are akua’ba fertility figures. The akua’ba are dolls with disk-shaped heads embodying their concept of beauty and carried by women who want to become pregnant and to deliver a beautiful child. A Ghanaian source indicates another use: when a child disappeared, the akua’ba statue was placed with food and silver coins at the edge of the forest to attract the malevolent spirit responsible: the spirit would then exchange the child for the statue.

Akua’ba Doll

Material: wood

Size: 14" x 4" x 3"

Akua’ba Doll

Material: wood

Size: 12" x 6' x 3"

Akua’ba Doll

Material: wood

Size: 16" x 6" x 2"

Akua’ba Doll

Material: wood

Size: 14" x 5" x 4"

Akua’ba Doll

Material: wood

Size: 13" x 3" x 3"

Maternity figure. Fertility and children are the most frequent themes in the wooden sculpture of the Asante. Thus the most numerous works are acua’ba fertility dolls and mother-and-child figures. In traditional Ashanti society, in which inheritance was through the maternal line, a woman's essential role was to bear children, preferably girls to continue the matrilineage. Such figures show the mother nursing or holding her breast, as exemplified by this figure. Such gestures express Asante ideas about nurturing, the family, and the continuity of a matrilineage through a daughter or of a state through a son. The sculptural emphasis on the child’s nourishment and security may refer at the same time to the dependence of each individual on the matrilineage.

Material: wood

Size: 13" x 5" x 6"

Mmoatia or “fairy-tale” figure. The Asante region of southern Ghana is a remnant of the Ashanti Empire, which was founded in the early 17th century when; according to legend, a golden stool descended from heaven into the lap of the first king, Osei Tutu. Asante was the largest and most powerful of a series of states formed in the forest region of southern Ghana by people known as the Akan. Among the factors leading the Akan to form states, perhaps the most important was that they were rich in gold. The stretch of the Atlantic coast now in Ghana became known in Europe as the Gold Coast. Rather naturalistically carved wood figures in various positions were used to illustrate legends or stories. They are called mmoatia or “fairy-tale” figures. The present figure belongs to this group.

Material : wood

Size: 8" x 3" x 2 "

Material : wood

Size: 9" x 3" x 2"

Kuduo box. Inspired by 14^th- and 15^th century Arabic-inscribed basins from Mameluk Egypt and other imported Islamic items, Asante metal casters also drew upon European trade wares in the creation of luxury containers named kuduo. Possession of elaborately decorated kuduo was the prerogative of highly positioned chiefs, who used them to store their treasures, gold dust, and precious beads. Kuduo were also used to keep sacred objects or sacrificial foods. The lid of this kuduo and its walls are dominated by bas-reliefs rendering of crocodiles. Some kuduo were buried with their owners, while others were kept in the shrine rooms. Life and the afterlife, the present and the past, were enhanced and made more meaningful by the presence of these elegant prestige vessels.

Material: copper alloy

Size:

Scene from a legend. The Asante region of southern Ghana is a remnant of the Ashanti Empire, which was founded in the early 17th century when; according to legend, a golden stool descended from heaven into the lap of the first king, Osei Tutu. Asante was the largest and most powerful of a series of states formed in the forest region of southern Ghana by people known as the Akan. Among the factors leading the Akan to form states, perhaps the most important was that they were rich in gold. The stretch of the Atlantic coast now in Ghana became known in Europe as the Gold Coast. Rather naturalistically cast figures or scenes were used to illustrate legends or stories. The present scene is one of them.

It depicts a procession at a royal festival. The chief is riding in a palanquin under an umbrella. He must be a person of high status because he is not walking, but is being carried by 4 carriers and his procession is led by the bearer of chief's staffs of prestige. The chief is wearing an elaborate head gear, and he is holding a fly-whisk in his right - presumably to gesture to the crowds. Included in the procession are a body guard with his sword held high, musicians with percussive and wind instruments and a dancer with a mask on the top of his head. The chief is being fanned by a large fan.

Material: brass

Size: 7" x 5" x 4"
THIS ITEM HAS BEEN SOLD

This item has been sold
This figurine has flattened head, and facial features traditional for Ashanti. Purchased by Dr. Raskin near the sacred lake Bostontwi in Ghana during one of his visits to the area. in the late 1990ies. The lake is so sacred that tribesmen who are fishing or boating on it are not allowed to use ores and have to row with their hands. There are very important Ashanti shrines in the area. The figure comes from one of the villages near a shrine.

Material: wood

size: 6" x 2.5" x 1"

BAGA

Guinea and Guinea-Bissau

Today, the Baga people, 60,000 in total, occupy the northern coast of Guinea and the southern coast of Guinea-Bissau. They live in the marshy area flooded six months of the year, during which time the only way to get around is by a dugout canoe. They live in villages divided into two to four quarters, which are in turn divided into five or six clans. Traditionally, the village is headed by the eldest member of each clan. The Baga are farmers; women primarily cultivate swamp varieties of rice in wet paddies along the coast. Cotton, gourds, millet, oil palms, okra, sesame, and sorghum are locally grown products that help to round out the Baga diet. The men also fish and grow cola nuts. Spiritually, they believe in a single god, known as Kanu, assisted by a male and female spirits. The only fundamental ritual is initiation. Before burial, the dead are displayed in a sacred wood and their belongings are buried.

Baga had rich traditions of multifunctional masks and sculpture, many of which were suppressed with the advent of Islam. The best known of these is the massive Nimba (or Dumba) mask, with its great cantilevered large nose, a large pair of breasts, crested head supported on the upper part of a female torso, carved so as to rest on the shoulders of the wearer, his body hidden in raffia fiber. The mask can also stand on four legs. Sterile women in the Simo secret society invoked it as the Mother of Fertility, and it was used at the first-fruit (rice) rituals, symbolically associating female fertility with the increase of the grain. This mask appears at the harvest and threshing of the rice crop, is worn by dancers at birth, marriages and other joyful ceremonies. This mask represented the very essence of Baga dignity and culture. The Simo society utilized very large polychrome masks (often more than 5 feet tall), known as banda or boke which are used in fertility rituals by this society, played a part during the dry season, after the rice harvest, and at funerals. It has an elongated human face with the jaws of a crocodile, the horns of an antelope, the body of a serpent and the tail of a chameleon.

Baga craftsmen also carve anok, a-tscol or elek, bird heads with human features that were used at harvest time and funerary rites, also by the members of the Simo society. Every family owns an elek, which is part of the family shrine, together with other objects: stones, vine twigs and bark reddened by cola nuts, dead scorpions or jaws of crabs, and a fly swatter, important for purification ceremonies and indispensable in the hunt for witches. The elek represents the lineage of which it is protector and the most visible sign. It punishes the guilty, for it a;one is able to pursue witches wherever they may be.

Baga snake headpiece can be up to 260 cm high and typically display undulation, polychrome decoration and sometimes have eyes inset with glass. It is an emblem of Bansonyi, men’s secret association. This headpiece, also called bansonyi, presents a python standing upright. Bansonyi lives in the sacred forest and emerges when it is time to begin the boys’ coming-of-age rites. As receptacle for the most powerful spirit, bansongyi is believed to be the strongest adversary of sorcery and destructive forces that could endanger the well-being of the village. Bansongyi also appears at the funeral celebrations of the most important members of the community. They were held on the shoulders of a dancer. There are also other masks combining human and animal features.

The Baga also produced statues on round columns, called tambaane, tsakala, or kelefa: extremely large head, compressed on both sides, in angular, stylized construction; jutting nose; arms without hands, or hands resting under the chin. They were kept in round huts by the Simo society.

Tall drums supported by a human figure are also carved.

Tonkongba headdress. The Tonkongba headdress can be seen as a three-part form, including a helmet in the center, a long snout protruding from the front, and, a pair of flat horns usually connected at their tips. It is not known much about the use of these headdresses. Our knowledge concerning the Tonkongba’s function is complicated by a number of factors, including the extreme secrecy enveloping the sculpture and the probability that it was used in different ways by different groups. No doubt, it served both as a shrine figure and as a dance headdress. According to some sources, the Tonkongba appeared on any special occasion when a sacrifice was involved, for example, at a funeral. It danced at sunrise. When Tonkongba came out, the people would hang tobacco leaves and fowl on its costume as tribute.

Material: wood

Size: 35" x 10" x 7"

baga.nimba.large.nimba1.jpg (19525 bytes)

Nimba (d’mba) mask. The various peoples known as Baga and numbering some 65,000 occupy a narrow stretch of marshy lowland along the Atlantic lagoons of the Republic of Guinea. They grow rice in the marshy area flooded six months of the year, during which time the only way to get around is by a dugout canoe. The men also fish and grow cola nuts. They believe in a single god who is assisted by a male and a female spirit. The nimba masks are among the most imposing of all African masks. It represents the idea of the fertile woman. The exaggerated, pendulous breasts are typical for these masks, which had a double function: sterile women in the Simo society invoked it as a goddess of fertility, and it was used at the first-fruit (rice) rituals, symbolically associating female fertility with the increase of the grain. The masks are used by dancers at birth, marriages, harvest festivals and other joyful ceremonies.

Material: wood

Size: 40" x 21" x 12"

Female Figure. The various peoples known as Baga and numbering some 65,000 occupy a narrow stretch of marshy lowland along the Atlantic lagoons of the Republic of Guinea. This marshy area is flooded six months of the year, during which time the only way to get around is by a dugout canoe. Their villages are traditionally headed by the eldest members of each clan. The men fish and grow cola nuts; the women grow rice. Spiritually, they believe in a single god, known as Kanu, assisted by a male and female spirits. The only fundamental ritual is initiation. The female figure is important in Baga art. This standing figure of rather naturalistic form represents an initiated young woman. Female figures of this type were used by many of the adult women’s organizations.

Material: wood

Size: 39" x 10" x 10"

Female drum (a-ndef). Among the Baga female power is demonstrated in drums that are carved in the form of a kneeling woman who supports the instrument. Owned by the woman’s A-Teken organization, such drums are played by women at annual initiations, the funerals of association members, their daughters’ weddings, and the reception of distinguished visitors. The woman supporting the drum reflects the female role as “bearer” in Baga culture. Women carry on their heads huge clay vessels filled with water and large baskets of rice. Among the northern Baga, the a-ndef , the large cariatide drums with the small drum barrel were the exclusive property of women’s a-Tekan association.

Material: wood

Size: 44" x 11" x 12"

Bansonyi headpiece. Today, the Baga people, 60,000 in total, occupy the northern coast of Guinea and the southern coast of Guinea-Bissau. Bansonyi is the man’s secret society that unites autonomous villages of the Baga people. Its emblem is a polychrome headpiece, called Bansonyi that is carved in the form of a python standing upright. It embodies the snake-spirit a-Mantsho-na-Tshol (“master of medicine”). Among most Baga subgroups, only adolescent males learn the secrets of the snake-spirit during the initiation, which marks the passage to adult status. Bansonyi lives in the sacred forest and emerges when it is time to begin the boys’ coming-of-age rites. Bansonyi is believed to be the strongest adversary of sorcery and destructive forces that could endanger the well-being of the village. It is especially protective of the boys during their initiation into adult society. Bansonyi also appear at the funeral celebrations of the most important members of the community.

Material: wood

Size:43" x 7" x 6"

Elek (composite figure of bird and human). (???, may be Senufo) Every Baga family owns an elek, named also anok or a-tscol, which is part of the family shrine, together with other objects: stones, vine twigs and bark reddened by cola nuts, dead scorpions or jaws of crabs. Eleks are bird birds with human features that were used at harvest time and funerary rites, also by the members of the Simo society. Activated by sacrifices, the elek are regularly brought out at night. It punishes the guilty, for it alone is able to pursue witches wherever they may be. This elek is a particularly well preserved and intricately carved example of Baga sculpture.

Material: wood SOLD

Size: 26" x 23" x 7"

A Monumental Banda or boke mask. The only fundamental ritual among the Baga is initiation. These people had rich traditions of multifunctional masks and sculpture, many of which were suppressed with the advent of Islam. The Simo society utilized very large polychrome masks (often more than 5 feet tall), known as banda or boke which were used in fertility rituals by this society, played a part during the dry season, after the rice harvest, and at other occasions. The banda mask represents a high rank in the Simo society, and is feared accordingly. It is worn on the head, horizontally and at a slant. At its approach all those not initiated flee horror-struck into their huts for protection. This mask is an elegant composite of animal and human features, including the jaw of a crocodile, the face and coiffure of a human being, the horns of an antelope, the body of a snake, and the curling tail of a chameleon.

Material: wood

Size: 55" x 15" x 10"

Similar mask sold at Bonhams May 13, 2010 Auction $12,000

Similar masks described in Art of the Baga by Frederik Lamp pp 144-149

BAMBARA (BAMANA, BANMANA)

Mali

The Bambara numbering 2,500.000 million form the largest ethnic group within Mali. The triangle of the Bambara region, divided in two parts by the Niger River, constitutes the greater part of the western and southern Mali of today. The dry savanna permits no more than a subsistence economy, and the soil produces, with some difficulty, corn, millet, sorghum, rice, and beans. Their traditions include six male societies, each with its own type of mask. Initiation for men lasts for seven years and ends with their symbolic death and their rebirth.

The ntomo society is for young boys before circumcision. There are two main style groups of their masks. One is characterized by an oval face with four to ten horns in a row on top like a comb, often covered with cowries or dried red berries. The other type has a ridged nose, a protruding mouth, a superstructure of vertical horns, in the middle of which or in front of which is a standing figure or an animal.

The komo is the custodian of tradition and is concerned with all aspects of community life -- agriculture, judicial processes, and passage rites. Its masks are of elongated animal form decorated with actual horns of antelope, quills of porcupine, bird skulls, and other objects. Their headdress, worn horizontally, consists of an animal, covered with mud, with open jaw; often horns and feathers are attached. Masks of the kono, which enforces civic morality, are also elongated and encrusted with sacrificial material. The kono masks were also used in agricultural rituals, mostly to petition for a good harvest. They usually represent an animal head with very long open snout and long ears standing in a V from the head, often covered with mud.

The tji wara (Tji wara) society members use a headdress representing, in the form of an antelope, the mythical being who taught men how to farm. The word tji means “work” and wara means “animal,” thus “working animal.” There are male and female antelopes with vertical or horizontal direction of the horns. The dancers appeared in pairs (a man and a woman – an association with fertility) holding two sticks in their hands, their leaps imitating the jumps of the antelopes.

The kore, representing the highest level concerned with the sky and with the bringing of rain to make the crops grow, employs masks representing the hyena, lion, monkey, antelope, and horse. In addition there are masks of the nama, which protect against sorcerers.

The size of the statue may vary from 12 inches to 4 feet. The figures are usually standing or sitting females with a dignified air, some holding a child. Some have the arms separated from the body, flat palms facing forward, the hands sometimes attached to the thighs. They may have crest-like hairdos with several braids falling on their breasts. In the same style, representations of musicians and of lance-carrying warriors are found. There are also carvings with Janus head. Ancestor figures of the Bambara clearly derive from the same artistic tradition as do many of those of the Dogon. Rectangular intersection of flat planes is a stylistic feature common to Bambara and Dogon sculpture.

Kore antelope mask. The 1.9 to 2.5 million Bambara live in the region around Bamako, the capital of Mali. They form the largest ethnic group within the country. The Bambara live principally from agriculture, with some subsidiary cattle rearing in the north of their territory. The Bambara have a very complex cosmology. They believe in existence of spiritual forces, which are activated by individuals, who are capable to create an atmosphere of harmony. They excelled in three types of sculpture: stylized antelope headdresses, statues, and masks. This antelope mask is associated with the Kore men’s secret society which organized young farmers. This society employs masks representing the hyena, lion, monkey, antelope, and horse. The mask functioned at agricultural activity such as supplication for rain. The Kore society seems to be disappearing in Bambara communities.

Material: wood Size: 26" x 10" x 8"

Material: wood, cowries, animal hair

Size: 31" x 10 " x 8"

Dyonyeni female figure. The Bambara excelled in three types of sculpture: stylized antelope headdress, statues, and masks. The basic characteristic of all their carvings is the use of bold volumes, often in angular interplay, with semiabstract over-all composition. The dyonyeni female figures are thought to be associated with either the Dyo or the Kwore society. For the Bambara, the mother figure is the embodiment of Faro, the goddess of water and mother of all mankind. She manifests herself in rain and rainbow, or thunder and lightning. The figures usually have geometrical features such as large conical or rounded breasts. The blacksmith members of the Dyo society used them during dances to celebrate the end of the initiation ceremonies. They were handled, held by dancers and placed in the middle of the ceremonial circle.

Material: wood

Size: 44" x 10" x 9"

Female figure (joneyeleni or nyeleni). While creating such freestanding figures depicting nubile young women, the sculptors portrayed the Bambara symbolic ideal of feminine beauty. The figures are rubbed with oil, clothed and adorned with beads and other ornaments to resemble Bambara women dressed for festive occasions. Sculpted figures of this type were used in the context of Jo activities. Jo was a traditional institution concerned with maintaining social, spiritual and economic harmony within the community. Unlike other Bambara institutions, women as well as men were members. Newly initiated male youths displayed the nyeleni figures during performances of Jo songs and dances.

Material: wood

Size: 34" x 7" x 9"

Kore monkey mask. The Bambara live in the region around Bamako, the capital of Mali. They form the largest ethnic group within the country. The Bambara maintain many of their ancient religious rites, which are principally concerned with agriculture. The masks of the Bambara can be classified according to the secret societies in which they were used, namely the N’tomo, Kore, Kono, and Komo. Through the six levels of education the initiate learns the importance of knowledge and secrecy, is taught to challenge sorcery, and learns about the dual nature of mankind, the necessity for hard labor in the production of crops, and the realities of surviving from day to day. The Kore society, concerned with the sky and with the bringing of rain to make the crops grow, employs masks representing the hyena, lion, monkey, antelope, and horse. This monkey mask is one of them.

Material: wood

Size: 11" x 9" x 5"

Material: wood

Size: 15" x 8" x 3"

Hyena mask. The Bambara are dignified people, proud of their warlike past. Nowadays they live principally from agriculture, with some subsidiary hunting and cattle rearing in the northern part of their territory. They strongly uphold their ancient tribal customs against Islam and Christianity. This is a hyena mask used by the agricultural Kore society. The Kore society is a rigidly stratified male initiation group that seeks to bring men to peace with their spirits. Its members achieved a degree of spiritual knowledge that enabled them to experience a mystic union with divine power and enter a perpetual cycle of reincarnation. The hyena was the society’s guardian animal. It symbolizes fallible human wisdom. The masks of this type were used both at initiations and at agricultural festivities, in supplications for the fecundity of the earth and sometimes for rain.

Material: wood

Size: 12" x 7" x 6"

Male Tji wara (antelope headdress). The Bambara, largest and most powerful tribe in the Western Sudan live in the open savanna to the southwest of the Dogon. Though they are Moslem, they maintain many of their ancient religious rites, which are principally concerned with agriculture and the fertility of the land. Among the best known of the Bambara associations is the Tji Wara. In the past the purpose of the Tji Wara association was to encourage cooperation among all members of the community to ensure a successful crop. In recent time, however, the Bambara concept of tji wara has become associated with the notion of good farmer, and the tji wara masqueraders are regarded as a farming beast. The Bambara sponsor farming contests where the tji wara masqueraders perform. Always performing together in a male and female pair, the coupling of the antelope masqueraders speaks of fertility and agricultural abundance. According to one interpretation, the male antelope represents the sun and the female the earth. The antelope imagery of the carved headdress was inspired by a Bambara myth that recounts the story of a mythical beast (half antelope and half human) that introduced agriculture to the Bambara people. The dance performed by the masqueraders mimes the movements of the antelope.

Material: wood SOLD

Size: 27" x 14" x 4"

Very rare in Bambara masks human features are without animal attributes and feathers are not typical.

Material: wood, feathers

Size: 14" x 6" x 6"

Male figure. No description

Material: Wood

Size:25" x 7" x 4"

Seated male figure

Material: wood

Size: 53" x 9" x 8"

Possibly a part of tji wara

Material: wood

Size: 20" x 3" x 4"

Seated mother-and-child figure (gwandusu). The basic characteristic of Bambara carvings is the use of bold volumes, often in angular interplay, with semiabstract over-all composition. Gwan was a Bambara society concerned with human fertility and childbearing. Its Major female figure was a woman holding a baby; the name of this figure, gwandusu, is said to mean “one who has strength and can achieve greatness.” The position of this mother-and-child figure sitting on the ground is rare.

Material: wood

Size: 25" x 14" x 4"

Kore antelope mask. The Bambara live in the region around Bamako, the capital of Mali. They form the largest ethnic group within the country. The Bambara live principally from agriculture, with some subsidiary cattle rearing in the north of their territory. The Bambara have a very complex cosmology. They believe in existence of spiritual forces, which are activated by individuals, who are capable to create an atmosphere of harmony. They excelled in three types of sculpture: stylized antelope headdresses, statues, and masks. This antelope mask is associated with the Kore men’s secret society which organized young farmers. This society employs masks representing the hyena, lion, monkey, antelope, and horse. The mask functioned at agricultural activity such as supplication for rain. The Kore society seems to be disappearing in Bambara communities.

Material: wood

Size: 32" x 8" x 9"

Material: wood

Size: 38" x 10" x 8"

BASSA

Liberia

The Bassa, one of the largest Kru-speaking peoples in the central coastal region and adjacent hinterland of Liberia, have been strongly influenced by the Mende-speaking neighbors, especially the Dan and Kpelle. Their economy is based on rice which they cultivate around small villages which have a population around two hundred. Bassa artistic tradition has been also influenced by their north-eastern neighbors, the Dan, who live on the Côte d’Ivoire. The Bassa have several female and male societies, including chu-den-zo, to whom gela (geh-naw) masks belong. Bassa carvers are famed for their gela masks worn during the no men's society ceremonies when the wearer of the mask moves with feminine and elegant grace. The masqueraders entertain the spectators when initiated boys return from bush camp, when important guests visit the village, and on other festive occasions. The dancer wears the mask, which is attached to a woven framework, on his forehead, and looks through a slit in the fabric which is part of the costume that covers his head and upper body. Because they are fixed on a framework, the interior of most such masks shows no signs of wear.

Bassa sculptures also bare similarity to Dan and display monumental and solemn qualities combined with skillful carving. Figures of dogs carved with a human face on the side, as well as stools, are known to exist, although the purpose of the dog statue remains unknown.

Geh-naw ceremonial mask. Bassa artistic tradition has been influenced by their northeastern neighbors, the Dan. With graceful, gliding dances the geh-naw masqueraders entertain the spectators when initiated boys return from bush camp, when important guests visit the village, and on other festive occasions. The dancer wears the mask, which is attached to a woven framework, on his forehead, and looks through the slit in the fabric, which is part of the costume that covers his head and upper body. The geh-naw masks are public entertainers who perform when the boys return from the bush schools, but also on many other occasions, such as the visits of important guests or on public holidays. The mask is intended to convey a sense of grace and serenity.

Material: wood

Size: 10" x 7" x 3"

BAULE (BAOULE, BAWULE)

Côte d'Ivoire

The Baule people, known as one of the largest ethnic group in the Côte d'Ivoire, have played a central role in twentieth-century Ivorian history. They waged the longest war of resistance to French colonization of any West African people, and maintained their traditional objects and beliefs longer than many groups in such constant contact with European administrators, traders, and missionaries. According to a legend, during the eighteenth century, the queen, Abla Poku, had to lead her people west to the shores of the Comoe, the land of Senufo. In order to cross the river, she sacrificed her own son. This sacrifice was the origin of the name Baule, for baouli means “the child has died.” Now about one million Baule occupy a part of the eastern Côte d'Ivoire between the Komoé and Bandama rivers that is both forest and savanna land. Baule society was characterized by extreme individualism, great tolerance, a deep aversion toward rigid political structures, and a lack of age classes, initiation, circumcision, priests, secret societies, or associations with hierarchical levels. Each village was independent from the others and made its own decisions under the presiding presence of a council of elders. Everyone participated in discussions, including slaves. It was an egalitarian society. The Baule compact villages are divided into wards, or quarters, and subdivided into family compounds of rectangular dwellings arranged around a courtyard; the compounds are usually aligned on either side of the main village street. The Baule are agriculturists; yams are the staple, supplemented by fish and game; coffee and cocoa are major cash crops. The importance of the yam is demonstrated in an annual harvest festival in which the first yam is symbolically offered to the ancestors, whose worship is a prominent aspect of Baule religion. The foundation of Baule social and political institutions is the matrilineal lineage; each lineage has ceremonial stools that embody ancestral spirits. Paternal descent is recognized, however, and certain spiritual and personal qualities are believed to be inherited through it. The Baule believe in an intangible and inaccessible creator god, Nyamien. Asie, the god of the earth, controls humans and animals. The spirits, or amuen, are endowed with supernatural powers. Religion is founded upon the idea of death and the immortality of the soul. Ancestors are the object of worship but are not depicted.

Baule art is sophisticated and stylistically diverse. Non inherited, the sculptor’s profession is the result of a personal choice. The Baule have types of sculpture that none of the other Akan peoples possess. Wooden sculptures and masks allow a closer contact with the supernatural world. Baule statues are usually standing on a base with legs slightly bent, with their hands resting on their abdomen in a gesture of peace, and their elongated necks supporting a face with typically raised scarification and bulging eyes. The coiffure is always very detailed and is usually divided into plaits. Baule figures answer to two types of devotion: one depicts the “spiritual” spouse who, in order to be appeased, requires the creation of a shrine in the personal hut of the individual. A man will own his spouse, the blolo bian, and a woman her spouse, the blolo bla. The Baule believe that before they were born into the world they existed in a spirit world, where each one had a mate. Sometimes that spirit mate becomes jealous of their earthly mate and causes marital discord. When this happens, a figure depicting the other world spouse is carved and placated with earthly signs of attention.

The Baule are also noted for their fine wooden sculpture, particularly for their ritual figures representing spirits; these are associated with the ancestor cult. The Baule have also created monkey figures gbekre that more or less resemble each other. Endowed with prognathic jaw and sharp teeth and a granular patina resulting from sacrifices, the monkey holds a bowl or a pestle in its paws. Sources differ on its role or function: some say it intervenes in the ritual of divination, others that it is a protection against sorcerers, or a protective divinity of agrarian rites, or a bush spirit. The figures and human masks are elegant -- well polished, with elaborate hairdressings and scarification.

Masks correspond to three types of dances: the gba gba, the bonu amuen, and the goli. They never represent the ancestors and are always worn by men. The gba gba is used at the funerals of women during the harvest season. It celebrates beauty and age, hence its refined features. The double mask represents the marriage of the sun and the moon or twins, whose birth is always a good sign. The bonu amuen protects the village from external threats; it obliges the woman to a certain discipline; and it appears at the commemorations of death of notables. When they intervene in the life of the community, they take the shape of a wooden helmet that represents a buffalo or antelope and which is worn with a raffia costume and metal ankle bracelets; the muzzle has teeth which incarnate the fierce animal that is to defend the group. The very characteristic, round-shaped “lunar” goli is surmounted by two horns. Celebrating peace and joy, they would sing, dance, and drink palm wine. In the procession, the goli preceded the four groups of dancers, representing young adolescents. The goli would be used on the occasion of the new harvest, the visit of dignitaries, or at the funerals of notables. Boxes for the mouse oracle (in which sticks are disturbed by a live mouse, to give the augury) are unique to the Baule, whose carvers also produce heddle pulleys, combs, hairpins, and gong mallets.

Female bush spirit figure or mbra. Around 1 million Baule occupy a part of the central Cote d’Ivoire that is both forest and savanna land. They came to this territory in the 18th century, an area previously the home of Guro. Statues were mostly used for two purposes: the first was to incarnate a spirit of the bush, asie usu or mbra; the second was to represent a spouse from the other world, blolo bla or blolo bian. According to the Baule beliefs, Asie usu (mbra) are extravagant creatures that live in the bush and occasionally make contacts with human beings. They are male and female, have colorful personalities, and often have personal names. Therefore their figures are made in pairs. These spirits are mischievous, but, if properly honored, will grant fruitful harvests and hunts. They sometimes express desire, through the village diviner, to be associated with a specific person. A figure is then sculpted and worshipped in the house of the designated individual.

Material: wood

Size: 25" x 8" x 7"

Baule (Baoule, Bawule) Côte d’Ivoire

Male bush spirit figure or mbra. Baule statues were mostly used for two purposes: the first was to incarnate a spirit of the bush, mbra or asie usu; the second was to represent a spouse from the other world. According to the Baule beliefs, mbra live in the bush and occasionally make contacts with human beings. They are male and female, have colorful personalities, and often have personal names. Therefore their figures are made in pairs. Mbra is a Baule cult used for divination. Only certain families have mbra, having acquired it in past generation. These spirits are mischievous, but, if properly honored, will grant fruitful harvests and hunts. They sometimes express desire, through the village diviner, to be associated with a specific person. A figure is then sculpted and worshipped in the house of the designated individual.

Material: wood, cloth

Size: 23" x 8" x 8"

Mblo dance mask. The Baule people occupy a part of the Côte d'Ivoire between the Komoé and Bandama Rivers that is both forest and savanna land. Baule society was characterized by extreme individualism, great tolerance, a deep aversion toward rigid political structures, and a lack of age classes, initiation, circumcision, priests, secret societies, or associations with hierarchical levels. Each village was independent from the others and made its own decisions under the presiding presence of a council of elders. Everyone participated in discussions, including slaves. It was an egalitarian society. Ancestors are the object of worship but are not depicted. This type of masks used in mblo dances is one of the oldest of Baule art forms. These dances offer psychological relief in times of stress. The mask is usually a portrait of a particular known individual. Lustrous curving surfaces, suggesting clean, healthy skin, are set off by delicately textured zones representing coiffures, scarifications, and other ornaments. The faces are idealized.

Material: wood

Size: 16" x 9" x 5"

Material: wood

Size: 21" x 9" x 5"

Kplekple mask. This mask belongs to a group of various types of masks known as goli. Goli is a day-long spectacle that normally involves the whole village and includes, besides the appearance of masks, music played on special instruments, and, ideally, the joyous consumption of a great deal of palm wine. The goli masks are considered intercessors with supernatural forces, which can have a positive influence on human affairs, or, if not appeased, a negative one. The kplekple masqueraders appear at dawn and again, briefly, during early afternoon and evening, to announce the arrival of the father (goli glin) or mother (kpwan). The basic Goli costume presents a netted shirt and trousers covering the arms, legs, and torso; ankle rattles; a raffia cape that hangs from the mask, a raffia skirt, and a whole animal hide on the back. The mask is worn by young men with a goatskin over their back, who perform a lively dance.

Material: wood

Size: 34" x 24" x 5"

Figure of the monkey god Gbekre. The Baule possess a figure with the head of a monkey representing one of the humbler gods. It is called Gbekre or Mbotumbo, a god with several tasks, for he is both judge of hell and helper of those in need, protector of the living against their enemies. Theese so-called “mendicant monkey” figures are very different in style of other Baule sculptures. If the ancestor-cult statues are often characterized by refined and detailed carving, the wood stained and often polished, the gbekre are very different. They are roughly carved in unstained wood. They combine human and animal traits in such a way that it is nearly impossible to separate them. Besides, they are used for many different cults, for a trance divination cult among them. Women are forbidden to see some of them, others are openly shown.

Material: wood, rafia

Size: 20" x 6" x 6"

Material: wood

Size: 80" x 16" x 14"

Material: wood

Size: 75" x 16" x 13"

Mblo portrait mask. The Baule use three major types of masks: a helmet in the shape of a buffalo head, masks related only to the Goli festival and the masks representing a human face with fairly realistic features. The masks of the last group are used in mblo entertainment dances and are one of the oldest of Baule art forms. Such a mask is usually a portrait of a particular known individual. Lustrous curving surfaces, suggesting clean, healthy skin, are set off by delicately textured zones representing coiffures, scarifications, and other ornaments. The faces are idealized. Ornaments above the face have no iconographic significance. These masks denote personal beauty, refinement, and a desire to give pleasure to others. The greater importance of the portrait masks, the need for the best dancers to wear them, and the requirement that the portrait’s subject also be available and willing to dance made them more rarely performed than animal masks, which could be worn by young, relatively inexperienced dancers.

Material: wood

Size: 13" x 7" x 4"

Double mask with a female figure on top

Material: wood

Size: 34" x 6" x 4"

22" x 8" x 7"

Goli ram mask. Baule society was characterized by extreme individualism, great tolerance, a deep aversion toward rigid political structures, and a lack of age classes, initiation, circumcision, priests, and secret societies. The Baule are agriculturists; yams are the staple, supplemented by fish and game; coffee and cocoa are major cash crops. The Baule use three major types of masks: a helmet in the shape of a buffalo head, masks related only to the Goli festival and the masks representing a human face with rounded, fairly realistic features. The present mask relates to the second type. According to the Baule mythology, the ram is a heavenly demon or a spirit of agriculture. These masks are used on the occasion of the new harvest, at the visit of dignitaries, or at the funerals of notables.

Material: wood

Size: 25" x 16" x 8"

may not be baule16" x 9" x 5"

Mblo Mask

This type of masks used in mblo dances is one of the oldest of Baule art forms. These dances offer psychological relief in times of stress. The mask is usually a portrait of a particular known individual. Lustrous curving surfaces, suggesting clean, healthy skin, are set off by delicately textured zones representing coiffures, scarifications, and other ornaments. The faces are idealized.

Material: wood

Size: 49" x 9" x 7"

Mankala (also called awele, wari or ma kron) game. The game of mankala, though widespread, is played more particularly in West Africa. It involves moving pawns on a board with two rows of six holes. The goal is to capture the pawns in the opposite row. The pawns can be made out of seeds, pebbles or pieces of metal. Many ethnographical collections have mankala games, which are fine works of art. This board is decorated with carved image of a crocodile. Two parts. SOLD

Material: wood

Size: 49" x 9" x 7" SOLD

Weaver’s Pulley. Weavers, always men, do not work in the courtyard but out in the public place, often in an area where many weavers gather and every passerby greets them. Their looms and weaving are watched and commented upon constantly. Pulleys are made to be attractive and to make people talk about them and their owner. Weavers said that a decorated pulley was simply for pleasure, and that each sweep of the shuttle turned the pulley head from side to side, as if it was shaking its head at the weaver.

Material: wood.

Size: 11" x 4" x 2"

Goli Elephant Mask

Côte d'Ivoire, have played a central role in twentieth-century Ivorian history. They waged the longest war of resistance to French colonization of any West African people, and maintained their traditional objects and beliefs longer than many groups in such constant contact with European administrators, traders, and missionaries. The Baule are agriculturists; yams are the staple, supplemented by fish and game; coffee and cocoa are major cash crops. They use three major types of masks: the helmet masks in the shape of a buffalo head, the masks representing a human face with rounded, fairly realistic features, and the third type including masks related to the Goli festival. The masks of the last type and in particular elephant masks are used during the Goli festivities held to celebrate new crops, the visit of dignitaries or periods of mourning. The masks appear in suite, with animal forms, both domestic and wild, preceding human face masks.

Material: wood

Size: 21" x 8" x 5"

Material: wood

Size: 22" x 7" x 5"

19" x 4" x 4"

Material: Wood

Size: 23" x 13" x 8"

Materials: wood, fabric

Size: 18" x 4" x 4"

Material: wood

Size: 15" x 5" x 4"

BENIN

Nigeria

The powerful ancient Benin kingdom was founded by the son of an Ife king in the early 14th century AD. It was situated in the forest area of southern Nigeria, 106 miles southeast of Ife. The art of bronze casting was introduced around the year 1280. The kingdom reached its maximum size and artistic splendor in the 15th and 16th century. For a long time the Benin bronze sculptures were the only historical evidence dating back several centuries into the West African past, and both the level of technical accomplishment attained in bronze casting, as well as the monumental vigor of the figures represented, were the object of great admiration. Benin bronzes are better known than the artworks from Ife or Owo due to their presence in Western museums since 1890s. In the thirteenth century, the city of Benin was an agglomeration of farms enclosed by walls and a ditch. Each clan was subject to the oba (king). The “Benin style” is a court art from the palace of the oba, and has nothing in common with tribal art. The Benin oba employed a guild of artisans who all lived in the same district of the city. Bronze figures ordered by the king were kept in the palace. The empire flourished until 1897, when the palace was sacked by the English in reprisal for an ambush that had cost the British vice-consul his life.

The numerous commemorative brass heads, free-standing figures and groups, plaques in relief, bells and rattle-staffs, small expressive masks and plaquettes worn on the belt as emblem of offices; chests in the shape of palaces, animals, cult stands, jewelry, etc. cast by Benin metalworkers were created for the royal palace. The heads were placed on the altars of kings, of brass caster corporation chiefs and dignitaries. Occasionally, a brass head was surmounted by a carved ivory tusk engraved with a procession of different obas. The altar functioned as a tribute to the deceased and a point of contact with his spirit. Using the bells and rattle stuffs to call the ancestor’s spirit, the oba offered sacrifices to him and to the earth on the altar. The majority of figures represented court officials, equestrian figures, queens, and roosters. Of objects in ivory: most elaborately decorated human masks, animals, beakers, spoons, gongs, trumpets, arm ornaments, and large elephant tusks covered with bands in figured relief. The representations of these objects served above all to exalt the king, the queen mother, the princes and royal household, army commanders, shown with their arms and armor and their retainers (huntsmen, musicians), or alternatively depicted important events.

When British forces entered Benin City in 1897 they were surprised to find large quantities of cast brass objects. The technological sophistication and overwhelming naturalism of these pieces contradicted many 19^th-century Western assumptions about Africa in general and Benin – regarded as the home of ‘fetish’ and human sacrifice – in particular. Explanations were swiftly generated to cover the epistemological embarrassment. The objects must, it was supposed, have been made by the Portuguese, the Ancient Egyptians, even the lost tribe of Israel. Subsequent research has tended to stress the indigenous origins of West African metallurgy. Yet it was the naturalism that proved decisive. Their status was marked by the establishment of the term ‘Benin bronzes’, despite their being largely of brass.

Following the bloody British punitive expedition to Nigeria, about three thousand brass, ivory and wooden objects were consigned to the Western world. At that time, western scholars and artists were stunned by the quality and magnificence of these objects, more than 1,000 brass plaques were appropriated from the oba’s palace. Dating from the 16^th and 17^th centuries, these plaques were secreted in a storage room. It is thought that they were nailed to palace walls and pillars as a form of decoration or as references to protocol. They show the oba in full regalia along with his nobility, warriors and Portuguese traders. The most elaborate ones display a procession of up to nine people, while others depict only fish or birds.

The majority of everyday Benin objects were made for and associated with court ceremonies. The figures of a leopard were the sole property of the oba – the leopard was the royal animal. Pectorals, hip and waist ornaments in the shape of human or animal heads were worn either by the oba or by major dignitaries. Brass staffs and clippers surmounted by birds appeared during commemorating ceremonies.

Despite the disappearance of the Benin kingdom, the Yoruba people living on its territory continued to produce artwork inspired by the great royal art of Benin.

Benin style, Nigeria

Plaque with an oba. When British forces entered Benin City in 1897 they were surprised to find large quantities of cast brass objects. The technological sophistication and overwhelming naturalism of these pieces contradicted many 19^th-century Western assumptions about Africa in general and Benin – regarded as the home of ‘fetish’ and human sacrifice – in particular. The objects must, it was supposed, have been made by the Portuguese, the Ancient Egyptians, even the lost tribe of Israel. Subsequent research has tended to stress the indigenous origins of West African metallurgy. Yet it was the naturalism that proved decisive. Their status was marked by the establishment of the term ‘Benin bronzes’, despite their being largely of brass. This plaque presents an oba (king) on the horse and worriers.

Material: Benin bronze

Size: 15" x 14' x 3"

BERBER

North Africa

“Berber” is the general name given to the indigenous peoples of North Africa, whose cultures have survived in remote mountain and desert regions, despite the Arabisation of the plains following the Islamic conquest. The Berber languages are completely different from those of the Semitic family, although many Berbers today speak both Berber and Arabic. Most Berbers are Muslims, but there is a small Jewish minority. Their traditional material culture is easily distinguished from the Arab and Andalusian culture of the towns. In Morocco this Berber culture is particularly rich and varied, and the inability of the central government based in Fez, Meknes, Marrakesh or Rabat to control the mountain peoples ensured that it flourished in relative isolation until the French and Spanish colonial domination of the 20^th century.

Bowl

Material: wood, metal stitches

Size: 6" x 12" x 2"

Ladle

Material: wood

Size: 14" x 5"

BETE

Côte d'Ivoire

The Côte d'Ivoire is the home to the Bete -- they live in the southwestern part of the country, between the Akan ethnic groups to the east and the Guro tribe to the north. They number about 700,000 and are an agricultural group. Patrilinear, the Bete live – under the ancestors’ authority – in small “headless” villages. Historically they were hunters, but nowadays they also farm. They grow what is needed for a subsistence economy. They also have linked to the market economy and much of their effort is devoted to the cultivation of cacao and coffee.

Religion, omnipresent in Bete life, aims to maintain a harmonious relationship between nature and the ancestors who are responsible for the welfare of the tribe. Today the vast majority still follow their traditional African religion, believing in a creator God Lago, but do not pray to or worship him. Instead they seek help from many lesser spirits supposed to have supernatural power to help them, or give protection--spirits of their ancestors, spirits that inhabit trees, rivers, rocks, etc. They observe many customs and taboos and make sacrifices of eggs, chickens, cows, etc. Each ritual focuses on the maintenance and care of good relations with the world of ancestors, so as to assure the protection of the lineages. The religious cults give rise to numerous mask performances, during the course of which the music assumes fundamental importance. The apprenticeship of male youngsters particularly concentrates on the mastery of these arts. In fact, within a village context the men form into veritable dance societies, membership in which is indispensable.

Bete carvers are renowned for one particular type of face mask, the gre or nyabwa , which has exaggerated, grimacing distorted features – a large protruding mouth, facial protuberances, bulging forehead, elongated nose, with nostrils sometimes extending to each side of the face, and globular or bulging slit eyes set beneath a high-domed forehead carved with a medium ridge. In earlier days, this mask presided over the ceremony held when peace was restored after armed conflicts and it participated in sessions of customary justice. This type of mask was also worn to prepare men for war; the masks offered magical protection by instilling fear and terror in potential enemies. Nowadays, it is worn for a variety of ceremonies, including entertainment dances.

The Bete have carved elegant statues, stylistically influenced by their neighbors the Guro. Bete statues were usually carved as standing figures displaying set-apart legs, an elongated torso with square shoulders, an elongated columnar neck supporting an oblong head with a pointed chin, an incised mouth and a high-domed, smooth forehead under a helmet-like coiffure. Bete figures exhibit hand positions, which are difficult to interpret, as well as touches of white pigment. Male and female figures are displayed in shelters or shrines to represent the founders of the community. They incarnate the conceptual ideal of spiritual perfection and moral strength and its connection to physical beauty. Other smaller statuettes may have been carved to represent spouses from the other world, a tradition inspired by the Baule.

War mask. The Bete are an agricultural group who live in relatively major villages in southwestern part of the country, between Bandama and Sassandra rivers. They grow what is needed for a subsistence economy and also have linked to the market economy and much of their effort is devoted to the cultivation of cacao and coffee. They place particular importance on the hunt. Religion, omnipresent in Bete life, aims to maintain a harmonious relationship between nature and the ancestors who are responsible for the welfare of the tribe. Only the western Bete are known to have a masking tradition. To overcome hostile forces that hunters encounter in the underbrush and forests, their masks offer magical protection by instilling fear and terror in potential enemies. Masqueraders perform during burials, at the end of the mourning period, or in honor of important people. Sometimes they or one of their attendants carries a lance. This weapon possibly points to the mask’s original function – that of a war mask.

Material: wood, tacks

Size: 13" x 9" x 9"

Ancestor statue (?). The Bete are divided into ninety-three groups. Lacking centralized power, the Bete were grouped together in relatively major villages, containing several lineages, probably for security reason. Each lineage had a totemic animal whose meat was taboo. The most senior member of the lineage exercised a moral and judicial power, notably in terms of awarding land. Male and female figures of this type are displayed in shelters or shrines to represent the founders of the community. They incarnate the conceptual ideal of spiritual perfection and moral strength and its connection to physical beauty. They have specific functions associated with funerary rites.

Material: wood

Size:

War mask. The Bete are an agricultural group who live in relatively major villages in southwestern part of the country, between Bandama and Sassandra rivers. They grow what is needed for a subsistence economy and also have linked to the market economy and much of their effort is devoted to the cultivation of cacao and coffee. They place particular importance on the hunt. Only the western Bete are known to have a masking tradition. Even if certain of their ritual attributions have disappeared or diminished, they nonetheless remain effective mediators between the supernatural world and that of man. The bellicose context of the masks’ appearances no longer exists: they neither encourage nor lead men into battle; nonetheless, they are always catalogued as war dance masks. Above all, they intervene to ritually cleanse the village, detect and chase away sorcerers, or preside over funerals.

Material: wood

Size: 11" x 8" x 4"

BIJAGO (ANAKI, BIDJOGO, BIDYOGO, BIJOGO, BIJUGO, BISSAGO)

Guinea-Bissau

Off the shore of Guinea Bissau lie about thirty islands that comprise the Bijago (Bissagos) archipelago. The Bijago are known from early chroniclers' accounts for their daring raids on shipping along the African coast using huge canoes. The economy of the archipelago is based on the cultivation of rice, on palm oil, and on fishing. The society is highly structured by means of institutions such as matrilinear clans, the council of elders, age classes, and the priestess. Age groups cover about seven levels among the males from infancy to old age. Martial virtues were cultivated by an age-set system that associated young men with powerful beasts of the sea and land. The Bijago society continues to practice its many religious rituals. Among these, male initiations, which today may not exceed two months, but formerly ran over several years, and the women’s, which characteristically consist of offering access to adult status for boys who have died before being initiated. This is a recuperative initiation, performed by women who are possessed by the spirit of the deceased. The matriarchal order was so strong that the women selected their men and could force divorce on their husbands, the man keeping the children.

The sculptor is a voluntarily engaged artisan who, through his periodic activity in connection with ceremonies of initiation and worship, is familiar with numerous secrets. Each villager may sculpt initiation masks, head decorations, statuettes, vessels, and so on. The heaviest masks are worn by the age group that is not yet considered adult. These represent, in a realistic manner, marine animals or wild bulls. While young boys might wear calf and fish masks, older uninitiated youths wear those depicting wild bulls, sharks, hippopotami and swordfish. Their dances are unpredictable and violent to accord with the character of the animal represented and their own undomesticated nature. The masks are worn either on top of the head or in front of it. The dancers imitate these dangerous animals that symbolize beings that are still untamed, as they have not been initiated. The masks are danced by boys and young men during the ceremonies that precede and follow the phases of initiation. Besides ritual occasions, nowadays they also appear in secular contexts, on days that commemorate historical events, and when important people visit.

Although Bijago figures can be realistic or abstract, they have a head with a pointed chin, a flattened face often with rounded eyes and semi-circular ears. These iran figures are believed to be possessed by divinities and have many functions – they serve as the focus of divination ceremonies, as protectors of households against curses and as healers. Kept in small sanctuaries or in special places in houses, these figures are offered sacrifices and libations, which may create a thick patina on the surface.

Wild bull (dugn’be) mask. Over 9,000 Bijago people inhabit the Bissagos islands. The economy of the archipelago is based on the cultivation of rice, on palm oil, and on fishing. The society is highly structured by means of institutions such as the matrilineal clans, the council of elders, seven age classes and the priestess. The majority of the Bijago practice animism. The women play a major role in social life. The masks represent, in a realistic manner, marine animals, hippopotamuses, sharks, or, like this one, wild bull. The masks are worn either on top of the head or in front of it. The dancers imitate these dangerous animals that symbolize beings that are still untamed, as they have not been initiated. The masks are danced by boys and young men during the ceremonies that precede and follow the phases of initiation. The heaviest masks are worn by the age group that is not yet considered adult. Besides ritual occasions, nowadays they also appear in secular contexts, on days that commemorate historical events, and when important people visit.

Material: wood, horns, tissue

Size: 24" x 12" x 6"

BOA (ABABUA, ABABWA, BABOA, BABUA, BABWA, BUA)

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Boa ethnic group comprises 200,000 savanna-dwelling people living in the northern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Each village is headed by a chief from the most prestigious clan. The Boa are mainly farmers and are in frequent contact with Mangbetu and Zande. The Boa are known principally for their masks, believed to be used in war-related ceremonies, to enhance the warrior's courage or to celebrate victories. These masks have set-apart, prominent, round ears, suggesting alertness, and are covered alternately with dark and light pigments. They have been described as belonging to warrior or secret associations and are considered to be war masks or disguises used in hunting although the precise function of Boa masks is not known.

The Boa carve statues with apotropaic functions. They also produce harps with human heads carved at the neck; sometimes the harp body is completely sculptured as a male or female figure.

Protective spirit mask. The Boa live between the Congo River and its right Oubangui tributary. The population of this region is of Sudanese origin. Although the Boa tribe was influenced by the Mangbetu, Boa works retain their originality. Only sparing information about their masks’ use is available. Evidently they belonged to warriors associations or secret societies and were used in the context of war dances. Their power was thought to make men invincible and weaken the enemy. The masks also protect society members from the dangers of illness, hunting, evil spirits, etc. Wood rings in place of ears and red (or black) and white contrasts are very typical for the Boa masks.

Material: wood

Size: 16" x 14" x 7"

Protective figure. The Boa live in the Aruwimi River region in northeastern part of the country. The population of this region is of Sudanese origin. Although the Boa tribe was influenced by the Mangbetu, Boa works retain their originality. The function of their statues are apotropaic: to protect society members from the dangers of illness, hunting, evil spirits, etc.

Material: wood

Size: 14" x 4" x 3"

Protective spirit mask. The Boa live between the Congo River and its right Oubangui tributary. The population of this region is of Sudanese origin. Although the Boa tribe was influenced by the Mangbetu, Boa works retain their originality. Only sparing information about their masks’ use is available. Evidently they belonged to warriors associations or secret societies and were used in the context of war and hunt dances. Their power was thought to make men invincible and weaken the enemy. The masks also protect society members from the dangers of illness, hunting, evil spirits, etc. Wood rings in place of ears and red (or black) and white contrasts are very typical for the Boa masks.

Material: wood

Size:

21" x 11" x 3"

BOBO (BOBO-FING)

Burkina Faso and Mali

In the literature on African art they are often called the Bobo-Fing, but they call themselves Bobo. Numbering 130,000 they live in eastern Burkina Faso, and also in Mali. They are farmers. The major food crops are sorghum, millet, yams, and maize. They grow cotton and peanuts as cash crops. Their lives are regulated by a council of elders. The notion of having a chief is profoundly foreign to them and they consider it to be dangerous -- as waging a severe attack on the order of things as established by the god. The Bobo god, creator of earth and animals, is Wuro, who formed the world from a ball of mud. The first man created was a blacksmith. Dwo, a son of the Wuro was responsible for helping humankind. The blacksmiths were the priests of Dwo worship. Spirits of the bush and ancestors received sacrifices. Dwo was the intermediary between humankind and the creator; masks are the mainstay of tradition and their meaning was revealed to young boys during their initiation period. Living in a region of dry savannas where harvests depend on rainfall, the Bobo instituted a series of purification rituals in order to reconcile themselves with nature. Since it is proper to make amends for the errors of humankind, masks have the essential function of erasing evil and reinstating the God-given balance between sun, earth, and rain. At the end of the dry season and before the work of cultivation begins, purification ceremonies take place, using masks of leaves, of fiber and wood, which may represent Dwo or protective spirits: warthog, male buffalo with flat horns, rooster with its crest standing perpendicular to its face, toucan, fish, antelope, serpent, and hawk. All of them incarnate the forces of fertility, fecundity, and growth. The masks symbolize animals or spirits and are worn during ceremonies associated with new crops, initiations and funerals. Among the Bobo, the sacredness of the mask derives from the fact that the divinity is considered to be present in the mask and, through it to be acting. The wearer is depersonalized to the advantage of the mask that he animates. To be a “mask”, man had to erase himself, that is to say, cease to be himself, shed his individuality. The Bobo also cast bronze pendants and statues.

Horned-animal mask. The Bobo numbering 100,000 to 130,000 live mostly in eastern Burkina Faso. A council of elders regulates their lives. The notion of having a chief is profoundly foreign to them and they consider it to be dangerous -- as waging a severe attack on the order of things as established by the god. Masks are the mainstay of tradition and their meaning was revealed to young boys during their initiation period. Masks have the essential function of erasing evil and reinstating the God-given balance between sun, earth, and rain. At the end of the dry season and before the work of cultivation begins purification ceremonies take place, using in particular masks, which represent the protective spirits of the village. All of them incarnate the forces of fertility, fecundity, and growth. The masks different in various areas symbolize animals or spirits and are worn during ceremonies associated with new crops, initiations and funerals.

Material: wood

Size: 31" x 12" x 8"

Antelope mask. The Bobo live mostly in eastern Burkina Faso. They are surrounded on the east by the Mossi, on the south by the Senufo and the Lobi, on the west by the Bamabara, and on the north by the Dogon. This ethnic group has produced a very marked and distinguished artistic style. Masks are the mainstay of tradition and their meaning was revealed to young boys during their initiation period. Masks have the essential function of erasing evil and reinstating the God-given balance between sun, earth, and rain. At the end of the dry season and before the work of cultivation begins, purification ceremonies take place, using in particular masks, which represent the protective spirits of the village. All of them incarnate the forces of fertility, fecundity, and growth. The masks different in various areas symbolize animals or spirits and are worn during ceremonies associated with new crops, initiations and funerals. Typical are square jaws and concentric rings that indicate the eyes.

Material: wood

Size: 31" x 12" x 9"

BULE (BULU)

Cameroon and Gabon

Occupying the border region between Cameroon and Gabon, the Bulu form part of the Fang group and live not far from Kwele, with whom they share cultural similarities. They practiced a ngi ritual against sorcery, in particular, against poisonings. Ngi is the gorilla, a fearful animal, with whom the candidate identifies after he has been accepted into the association. The inventiveness of their round, simple forms is striking, and artists have captured with great precision the animal posture.

Most of their masks are in the form of a human face, some with horns. They have geometrically formed human heads, mostly colored white and black.

Gorilla (ngi) ritual figure. Occupying the border region between Cameroon and Gabon, the Bulu form part of the Fang group and live not far from Kwele, with whom they share cultural similarities. They practiced a ngi ritual against sorcery, in particular, against poisonings. Ngi is the gorilla, a fearful animal, with whom the candidate identifies after he has been accepted into the association. The specific function of this figure in the ngi ceremony is not known.

Material: wood

Size: 24" x 12" x 13"

BWA

(BOBO-OULE, BOBO-ULE, BWABA, BWAMU)

Burkina Faso and Mali

Numbering 125,000 in Mali and 175,000 in Burkina Faso, the Bwa are divided in three endogamous castes: farmers, blacksmiths, and griots (bards and musicians). The Bwa are farmers who grow grain, especially millet, sorghum and maize. They have grown very large amounts of cotton since the colonial period, and the cultivating of this cash crop has contributed to the destruction of their traditional patterns of cooperative farming. Agriculture is practiced primarily by the men, women participating on certain occasions only. The blacksmiths forge tools and cast brass, and their wives make pottery. The blacksmith is also the village’s gravedigger and is responsible for digging wells. He is thus the man in contact with the soil; this indicates his importance, his role as mediator in disputes and as intermediary with the supernatural world. The griots weave and dye cotton. They play an important social role and are essential in public events. The Bwa have no centralized political organization and every village is directed by a council of the eldest men of the lineages.

The spiritual life of the Bwa is based on worship devoted to Do (Dwo) and the founding ancestors of the clan. Do is at once an organization and an anthropomorphic being, the son of the creator god. Do represents the life-giving powers of nature, the forest and nourishing forces, sources of the life of plants and the fields, and intervenes at the time of agrarian rituals and funerals. Do is incarnated at initiations and village purifications, held just after crops are planted, by an otherworldly spirit masker whose “skin” is vines, grasses, and leaves. Deliberately non-human in shape, color, and behavior, the maskers celebrate life and help renew the forces of nature.

Wooden masks are found only among the Bwa in the south. The eyes set off by concentric circles, for instance, are intended to recall an owl, and the hooked shape extending from its forehead alludes to the hornbill. These masks represent animals: antelopes, warthogs, wild buffalo, monkeys, crocodiles, serpents, fish, birds, and insects, along with some human beings, and bush spirits who take on supernatural forms. The motifs are symbols linked to Do and to the history of the clan. The mask is worn in front of the face. They are differentiated only by the shape of the horns, while the muzzle and protruding eyes remain the same structure. The dancer looks through the open hole of the mouth. These masks are thought to be inhabited by supernatural forces, who act to benefit the clan possessing them. The Bwa carve also polychrome masks in horizontal shapes, which symbolize butterflies or hawks. The butterfly mask is decorated with concentric circles, while the hawk mask has a plain white surface. Masks are involved in burials, at the end of periods of mourning, in initiations, and for entertainment festivities on market days. Bwa figures are relatively rare and are associated with divination ceremonies and human and agricultural fertility rites. They are paraded through villages and are offered sacrifices. The Bwa sculpt divination canes with curved ends; diviners use copper or brass bracelets decorated with standing figures that represent the spirits.

Nature Spirit plank mask. Over 300,000 Bwa people are scattered across Burkina Faso and Mali. The Bwa are farmers who grow grain, especially millet, sorghum and corn. They are classified into professional castes: farmers, blacksmiths and musicians. They have a rich masking tradition. The northern Bwa primarily use masks made of leaves, feathers, and plant fibers. The southern Bwa also have various types of wooden masks, which they adopted from the neighboring Gurunsi people and from the original Bobo. Representing spirits of nature, which influence human life, the maskers appear on market days, during initiations, funerals, harvest rites, and on other festive occasions. This mask is marked by a high degree of abstraction. Yet the Bwa associate some of the compositional elements with certain birds that play a role in the spirit world. The eyes set off by concentric circles, for instance, are intended to recall an owl.

Material: wood

Size: 33" x 31" x 5"

Antelope mask. The southern Bwa are called nyanegay, or “scarred Bwa” because their faces and torsos are heavily scarred by patterns applied during initiation. The southern Bwa abandoned the use of leaf masks to honor Do, the god of the wilderness, and adopted the use of wooden masks from their Gurunsi neighbors. The masks represent nature spirits or animals that family elders encountered in the wilderness and which watch over their families. They may represent antelopes, warthogs, wild buffalo, monkeys, crocodiles, serpents, fish, birds, and insects, along with some human beings, and bush spirits who take on supernatural forms. Both the scars on people’s faces and the patterns on the masks represent the moral code or religious laws that the followers of these spirits must obey if they are to receive the blessings of the spirit. A mask has a rather circular face with geometric designs painted in vivid colors. The eyes set off by concentric circles are intended to recall an owl. The motifs are symbols linked to Do and to the history of the clan. The mask is worn in front of the face. The dancer looks through the open hole of the mouth. These masks are thought to be inhabited by supernatural forces, who act to benefit the clan, that possess them.

Material: wood

Size:

20" x 9" x 6"

Hawk plank mask (bougou dinde). The southern Bwa adopted the use of wooden masks from their Gurunsi neighbors. The Bwa masks represent nature spirits or animals that family elders encountered in the wilderness and which watch over their families. They may represent antelopes, warthogs, wild buffalo, monkeys, crocodiles, serpents, fish, birds, and insects, along with some human beings, and bush spirits who take on supernatural forms. Both the scars on people’s faces and the patterns on the masks represent the moral code or religious laws that the followers of these spirits must obey if they are to receive the blessings of the spirit. The mask is worn in front of the face. The dancer looks through the open hole of the mouth. The hawk mask dances energetically. The geometric designs convey coded information to the initiates, and meaning vary by clan and level of initiation.

Material: wood

Size:

62" x 13" x 4"

Material: wood

Size: 43" x 11" x 20"

Nwantantay plank mask. The southern Bwa are called nyanegay, or “scarred Bwa” because their faces and torsos are heavily scarred by patterns applied during initiation. The southern Bwa abandoned the use of leaf masks to honor Dwo, the god of the wilderness, and adopted the use of wooden masks from their Gurunsi neighbors. The masks represent nature spirits or animals that family elders encountered in the wilderness and which watch over their families. They may represent antelopes, warthogs, wild buffalo, monkeys, crocodiles, serpents, fish, birds, and insects, along with some human beings, and bush spirits who take on supernatural forms. Both the scars on people’s faces and the patterns on the masks represent the moral code or religious laws that the followers of these spirits must obey if they are to receive the blessings of the spirit. A mask has a circular face with geometric designs painted in vivid colors, and is surmounted by a large plank with a crescent-shaped motif at the end. The eyes set off by concentric circles are intended to recall an owl, and the hooked shape extending from its forehead alludes to the hornbill. The motifs are symbols linked to Dwo and to the history of the clan. The mask is worn in front of the face. They are differentiated only by the shape of the “horns”, while the muzzle and protruding eyes remain mostly the same. The dancer looks through the open hole of the mouth. These masks are thought to be inhabited by supernatural forces, who act to benefit the clan, that possess them.

Material: wood

Size: 56" x 18" x 6"

43" x 11" x 20"

CAMEROON GRASSLAND (BAMUM, BAMELIKE, etc.)

The northern part of Cameroon has been Islamized and has no sculpture; on the other hand, the savannas of the west, the Grassland, are composed of three ethnic groups with ancestors in common. There are the one million Bamileke spread over the southwestern plateaus, in communities that have from 50,000 to 100,000 people; the 500,000 Bamenda-Tikar in the north; and, finally, the Bamum in the northwest, with a population of 80,000. The Bamileke resisting slave raids with suicide or rebellion, contributed very little to the Black population of the New World. The artistic production of the people living in the Grassland of Cameroon is closely associated with royal and societal ceremonies. Large figures, thrones and prestige paraphernalia are used by the king to assert his power.

The Grassland was divided into ninety kingdoms governed by a king, the fon, supported by non-secret societies. In the past, he was believed to be endowed with supernatural powers that allowed him to change into an animal – an elephant, leopard, or buffalo. He ensured the protection of his people and guaranteed the fertility of the fields and the fecundity of the women. The fon was responsible for rituals of planting and harvesting, for the annual festival of the dry season, for the opening of the collective royal hunt, and for expeditions of war. The fon was appointed by his predecessor, who chose him from among his direct heirs, excluding the eldest. Art objects were symbols of position in the hierarchy; their number, the materials from which they were made, and their iconography changed progressively as one descended or ascended the social ladder. Competition among sculptors was often great, for the artist’s “office” was not hereditary. Sculpture’s goal was to commemorate and celebrate the royal ancestors of the present fon. In the fon’s palace, next to the ancestral figures and the masks, one would also find headdresses, beaded thrones, bracelets, necklaces, pipes, leopard skins, elephant tusks, swords, commanders’ sticks, fans, dishware, horns, and terracotta bowls.

In Bamileke (Mbalekeo, Mileke) territories, the fon entrusted the guardianship of the sculptures to certain members, for to spread around portions of the treasury was an insurance against the frequent fires. Masks that elicit fear and apprehension are the work of societies responsible for repression. In spite of the ethnic and stylistic variations found in the Grassland area, similar types of mask have been produced. All young boys belong to associations based on age classes, covering periods of five years each, focusing on military and technical apprenticeship. The various societies also had their masks; some of them, according the tradition, had been created and consecrated by the ancestors themselves, others inspired great fear, there were masks decorated with beads, copper, and cowrie shells. Most of the kingdoms used the buffalo, stag, elephant, birds masks, and masks presenting male and female human heads. They are usually worn during state ceremonies such as the funeral of an important dignitary, or during annual festivities. During these ceremonies, the leading dancer wears a n’kang mask which bears a false beard, a coiffure split in two symmetrical parts and is often covered in royal paraphernalia such as cowrie shells and beads. The n’kang mask is followed by other masks representing a woman, a man or an animal. The buffalo and elephant masks represented strength and power, and the spider mask, intelligence, but most of the meanings are now lost.

Bamum (Bamoum, Bamoun, Bamun, Banun, Mom, Mum, Mun) social life was oriented toward the conquest of surrounding chieftainries, and forays were made into neighboring lands: from this stems a warrior mythology and an abundance of material symbols of strength. The Bamum produced large figures encrusted with beads and cowries. Noteworthy elephant heads cast in bronze. There are also: dance masks in the form of a long head and a high neck, also in animal-head form; footstools and thrones decorated and supported by animal or human figures. In the small kingdom of Bangwa, the heads of statues and masks feature puffed-out cheeks. The very characteristic sculpture in the round attains its apogee in a depiction of a horn-player who wears traditional headgear in the shape of a tiara; the thick double arc of his eyebrows overhang, and the mouth is treated in parallelepipedal relief under a heavy nose featuring well-shaped nostrils.

The wood used for masks is not always completely hollowed out, for the mask does not cover the face of the wearer but rather tops a kind of bamboo cage surrounded by a tufted collar of palm fibers, which conceals the head. These masks, instruments of societies with political, administrative, judicial, or theatrical functions, were kept in special storage houses; they were brought out at the first rainfall. Then, the king himself would appear masked and dancing. The buffalo joins the leopard, elephant, and two-headed python as an image of royal power is frequently found in the decoration of works from the region.

A large number of prestigious items of paraphernalia were produced within the Grassland area, including large house-posts, door and window frames carved with human and animal figures, thrones, stools and tables decorated with small heads and figures, large bowls, carved horns for royal feasts, anthropomorphic terracotta and bronze pipes. Musical instruments such as anthropomorphic and zoomorphic drums, as well as metal gongs, were played during royal and state ceremonies.

Elephant shaped Box for medicines. The grassland region, in south-west Cameroon, is a hilly and mountainous area covered by an equatorial forest in the south and a savannah in the north. The area is divided into 90 small independent kingdoms and chiefdoms, whose powers are counterbalanced by male and female societies. Apparently, this box was intended for medicinal herbs. The elephant Babanki style decorating the box like leopards are two of the most prevalent symbols of dynastic power in Cameroon royal art. The elephant represented strength and power, lizards represent household tranquility.

Material: wood

Size: 37" x 12" x 13"

Ceremonial Royal Mask. The northern part of Cameroon has been Islamized and has no sculpture; on the other hand, the savannas of the west, the Grassland, are composed of three ethnic groups with ancestors in common. The Grassland is divided into 90 small independent kingdoms and chiefdoms, whose powers are counterbalanced by male and female societies. The Grassland Region is a hilly and mountainous area. All young boys belong to association based on age classes, covering periods of five years each, focusing on military and technical apprenticeship. This mask tops a kind of bamboo cage surrounded by a tufted collar of palm fibers. The large masks of this type with a complex design on top were specifically used during the royal festivities held within the king’s palace. Up to thirty different masks might perform in an event.

Material: wood

Size: 31" x 22" x 19"

Material: wood

Size: 20" x 8" x 8"

Figure of a King. The Cameroon Grassland is a large cultural area, which is inhabited by many related peoples. The Bangwa, like most of the people in this area, are historically farmers who grow maize, yams, and peanuts as staple crops. They also raise some livestock, including chickens and goats, which play an important role in daily sustenance. Women, who are believed to make the soil more fruitful, are responsible for the tasks of planting and harvesting the crops. Men are responsible for clearing the fields for planting and practice some nominal hunting. The Bangwa also developed trade relations with their neighbors living in southeastern Nigeria. The hierarchical societies of the Cameroon Grassland support a wide range of leadership and prestige arts associated with royalty and persons of high rank. This figure represents a Bangwa royal ancestor, whose high status is emphasized by the knotted prestige cap. The sculpture would have been kept in the royal treasury along with many other objects reserved for use by the Fon, the political ruler of a Grassland kingdom. Palace art is displayed during royal funeral ceremonies, public appearances by the Fon, and annual festivals.

Material: wood

Size: 40" x 17" x 13"

Ceremonial Royal Mask. The Grassland Region is a hilly and mountainous area. The northern part of Cameroon has been Islamized and has no sculpture; on the other hand, the savannas of the west, the Grassland, are inhabited by three ethnic groups with ancestors in common and keeping old traditions. The Grassland was divided into ninety kingdoms each governed by a king, the fon. In the past, he was believed to be endowed with supernatural powers that allowed him to change into an animal – an elephant, leopard, or buffalo. He ensured the protection of his people and guaranteed the fertility of the fields and the fecundity of the women. This mask tops a kind of bamboo cage surrounded by a tufted collar of palm fibers. The large masks of this type with a complex design on top were specifically used during the royal festivities held within the king’s palace. Lizards represent household tranquility.

Material: wood

Size: 21" x 12" x 14"

Ceremonial Royal Mask. In Bamileke (Mbalekeo, Mileke) territories, the fon (king) entrusted the guardianship of the sculptures to certain members, for to spread around portions of the treasury was an insurance against the frequent fires. Masks that elicit fear and apprehension are the work of societies responsible for repression. In spite of the ethnic and stylistic variations found in the Grassland area, similar types of mask have been produced. Since the masks were usually carved by foreigners who had been brought into the kingdom as prisoners of war, these performances also served to integrate populations from the defeated lands into the kingdom. This mask is topped with figures of leopards that are royal animals and symbols of dynastic power in Cameroon royal art.

Material: wood

Size:25" x 13" x 12"

Buffalo mask. The most important Cameroon grasslands kingdom in the south is the Bamileke circle (Batcham, Bandjoun, Bangwa, and others). There are one million Bamileke spread over the plateaus, in communities that have from 50,000 to 100,000. Art objects were symbols of high position in the hierarchy. The buffalo’s physical power and endurance was viewed as a particularly appropriate metaphor for the force of palace law. The buffalo masks were worn by palace regulators in their roles as market police, apprehenders of wrongdoers, and court judges. According to S. P. Blier, “Some of the masked performers were perceived to be so wild and dangerous that they had to be restrained by ropes to prevent them from doing harm, a display that would have reinforced the original functions of these court maskers in punishing those guilty of criminal acts”.

Material: wood

Size: 26" x 16" x 7"

Ceremonial Royal Mask. In Bamileke (Mbalekeo, Mileke) territories, the fon (king) entrusted the guardianship of the sculptures to certain members, for to spread around portions of the treasury was an insurance against the frequent fires. Masks that elicit fear and apprehension are the work of societies responsible for repression. In spite of the ethnic and stylistic variations found in the Grassland area, similar types of mask have been produced. Since the masks were usually carved by foreigners who had been brought into the kingdom as prisoners of war, these performances also served to integrate populations from the defeated lands into the kingdom. The mask is topped with figures of leopards that are royal animals and symbols of dynastic power in Cameroon royal art.

Material: wood, rafia

Size: 23" x 12" x 14"

Batcham headdress. Batham is a small Bamileke kingdom in the northwest region of the Grassland. Its name was given to this kind of headdresses, although they were very popular also among the Bangwa and the Bamileke. In these chiefdoms, power was held by the Fon, a king who was supported by powerful brotherhoods or societies. Batcham masks belonged to one of these societies and were designed to intimidate and to maintain social order. They were used mainly for the enthronement or the burial of the Fon or notables. It could also be seen during a special dance that was only performed at the royal residence to the sounds of ritual pipes. This ceremony marked the end of the harvest and the coming of new year. Certain authors see this mask as a totally unrealistic depiction of a hippopotamus head emerging from the water.

Material: wood

Size: 30" x 20" x 7"

Prestige Stools. Among the kingdoms of the Grassland, stools decorated with beads or made with bronze were usually reserved for the fon or his noblemen.

Material: African bronze

Size: 49" x 20" x 20"

Ceremonial Royal Mask. The northern part of Cameroon has been Islamized and has no sculpture; on the other hand, the savannas of the west, the Grassland, are composed of three ethnic groups with ancestors in common. The Grassland is divided into 90 small independent kingdoms and chiefdoms, whose powers are counterbalanced by male and female societies. All young boys belong to association based on age classes, covering periods of five years each, focusing on military and technical apprenticeship. This mask tops a kind of bamboo cage surrounded by a tufted collar of palm fibers. The masks of this type with a complex design on top were specifically used during the royal festivities held within the king’s palace. Up to thirty different masks might perform in an event.

Material: wood

Size:

Commemorative Figure. The Bamum live in the west of the country and are numbering some 80,000. The sultanate of Bamum is ruled by a single, sacred king, known as the Fon. He is assisted by three officials and seven hereditary councilors. The Fon and his court is a focal point of the tribe, and exert powerful influence upon the development of the plastic art, although it must be remembered that Cameroon has hundreds of chiefdoms. The art of Cameroon is the art of a royal court with a complex protocol and numerous rituals. This commemorative figure of a queen with her children came from the Bamum territory of the Grassland. The theme of maternity often expressed in the art of many African tribes underlines not only its narrow subject, but also contains ideas of fecundity and fertility of the earth.

Material: African bronze

Size: 56" x 25" x 20"

Prestige Stools. Among the kingdoms of the Grassland, stools decorated with beads or made with bronze were usually reserved for the fon or his noblemen.

Material: African bronze

Size: 16" x 12" x 12" each

Material: wood,

Size: 28' x 13" x 14"

Father Heaven headdress with moving hands. The Ejagham are found in the easternmost part of southern Nigeria and in the contiguous area of the western Cameroon. They are primitive agriculturists and their main crops are yam, coconut and maize. The Ejagham produced skin-covered wooden headdresses and masks of a demonic naturalism. Earlier skins of slaves, later skins of antelopes, were used. It is presumed that all masks and headdresses represented ancestors. They have mythological significance: male images representing Father Heaven, female Mother Earth. The Ejagham masquerades performances generally took place at the initiation or funerals of members of the associations, and also at periodic rites connected with agriculture. The skin covering the headdress served as a magical agent to invoke ancestral spirits, thus eroding the barrier between living and dead participants in communal rituals.

Material: wood, antelope skin, vegetable fiber, feathers

Size: 23" x 8" x 8"

32" x 21' x 13"

Palace box. The 80,000 Bamum people inhabit the savanna (Grassland) in the west of the country. The sultanate of Bamum is ruled by a single, sacred king, known as the fon. He is assisted by three officials and seven hereditary councilors. The fon and his court is a focal point of the tribe, and exerts powerful influence upon the development of the plastic art, although it must be remembered that Cameroon has hundreds of chiefdoms. The art of Cameroon is the art of a royal court with a complex protocol and numerous rituals. This unusual box of outstanding art work and presenting some mythological subject came from the Bamum cultural area; it was intended to be used in some palace ceremonies.

Material: wood, beads, cowries

Size: 34" x 31" x 20"

Doll. The northern part of Cameroon has been islamicized and has no sculpture; on the other hand, the savannas of the west, the Grassland, are composed of ethnic groups with ancestors in common. Among them there are more than 1 million Bamileke spread over the southwestern plateaus, in communities that have from 50,000 to 100,000. The dolls held by young Bamileke and Namji women are carved from wood which is then heavily decorated with fine beadwork.

Material: wood, beads

Size: 17" x 6" x 3"

Material: wood, beads

Size: 18" x 5" x 4"

CAMEROON (NORTH)

Face rabbit (dyommo) mask. The area identified as Dogon country spans roughly 19,300 square miles of southeast Mali, with a population of approximately 400,000. The history of Dogon masquerade has been one of constant adaptation. Mask performances were described in connection with post-burial rites for important elders, rites for the protection of fruit crops, and at corrective rites, referred to as puro, curbing the behavior of women. This mask type represents a rabbit (dyommo), and its wearer danced to rhythms known by the same name.

Material: wood

Size: 10" x 5" x 4"

Face mask. The Ogoni live to the east of the Niger delta, in a fertile area rich in petroleum resources. Despite the efforts of Christian missionaries, they have retained a vital, regionally varied masquerading activity that is in part deeply rooted in their own tradition and in part adopted from neighboring ethnic groups such as the Ibibio or Ijo. Ogoni mask acrobatic dances named karikpo serve a great variety of functions, which, depending on the region, can extend from pure entertainment to participation in funeral services and harvest festivals, all the way to the implementation of judicial verdicts. The present mask with its movable lower jaw, full lips, and short nose, represents a classical type of Ogoni mask. Some sources associate this type of mask with the performances held before the yam harvest celebrations. Dressed in costumes made of fresh foliage, groups of masqueraders moved through the lanes and farms from morning to night, repeatedly performing exuberant dances and receiving from lookers small gifts of money, food, or beverages.

Material: wood

Size: 7" x 4" x 3"

Material:

Size: 7" x 5" x 4"

Lega mask

Face woman mask. The Ogoni, who live east of the Niger Delta, use numerous types of masks for entertainment or on ceremonious occasions. Some of these originate from their own carving traditions, others from neighboring peoples such as the Ijo or Ibibio. The repertoire includes anthropomorphic face masks with movable lower jaw. Masks of the Ogoni people are generally smaller than those of the Ibibio, but share with them similar features such as hinged jaws. The masks wre danced by young men, dressed in costumes of fresh leaves and various types of mask, including the classical one with movable jaw and zoomorphic masks. Delicate coiffures usually signify femininity; horns, masculine power.

Material: wood

Size: 11" x 7" x 6"

Total items this page

101