Objects of Curiosities

Very beautiful Baoulé mask, mid-20th century from Ivory Coast of the Baoulé tribe.

A unique piece

The single item shown in the picture is the exact item you will receive.

The Baoulé are part of the Akan people. They moved to western Ivory Coast more than 200 years ago and adopted the masking traditions of their neighbors, the Guro, Sénoufo and Yaure peoples.

There are three basic types used in a special dance of rejoicing called Goli, symbolizing social order.

Most of these masks are Kpan – with elaborate hairstyles and exquisite carvings, and represent the elderly woman during ceremonies.

Another mask – Kple kple – represents the junior male. It is round and flat and is one of the most abstract traditional African masks.

A third type – a Goli Gulin – represents the senior male.

Very beautiful Boa mask, mid-20th century from Congo from the Boa tribe.

A unique piece. The single item shown in the picture is the exact item you will receive.

The Boa are mainly known for their masks, believed to be used in ceremonies related to war, to strengthen the courage of the warrior or to celebrate victories. These masks have wide-set, prominent, round ears, suggesting alertness, and are covered alternately with dark and light pigments. Ancient masks have been described belonging to warlike or secret associations and are considered war masks or diguises used for hunting although their precise function is not known

The unique piece shown in the picture is the exact item you will receive.

Ibeji male figurine with pleasant features and facial scarifications. He has a sensitive expression. The character wears a traditional high-bonnet hairstyle. The surface has a nice brown patina. It is decorated with pearls around the waist and arms.

Material: Wood

Age: mid-20th century

Origin: Nigeria

Tribe: Ere Ibeji - Yoruba

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A classic female Hemba ancestor figure with hands placed on the chest, eyes half open. These figures are imbued with the nobility of ancestors increasing the family lineage. These figures would have been shown during important ceremonies aimed at strengthening the family's position. As a spiritual container, the figure would facilitate the connection between the world of the dead and that of the living. It has beautiful scarifications on the abdomen.

Material: Wood

Age: mid-20th century

Origin: Congo

Tribe: Hemba

The unique piece shown in the picture is the exact item you will receive.

A Punu Duma or Mvudi mask from Gabon with white kaolin.

Masks like these were used by various tribes in Gabon.

The Mwo Spirit Maiden masks depict a beautiful young girl with her whitened face and serene expression. As in life, this beautiful young girl wears an elaborate hairstyle illustrated by polychrome colors.

The mask would be worn with a colorful costume covering his body. Although the mask has an Asian expression, no such connection has been made.

Known as Duma or Mvudi, it represents a female guardian spirit in the initiation of young girls, funeral rites, ancestor worship and also in full moon dances.

Material: wood

Age: mid-20th century

Origin: Gabon

Tribe: Punu

Tribe: Songye

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A typical female ancestral figure with nice varied patina. The stylistic similarities with the sculpture of the neighboring Kuba people are evident. Beautiful scarifications all over the body with a typical coiffure.

Material: Wood

Age: mid-20th century

Origin: Congo

Tribe: Ndengese

Very beautiful Kifwebe mask, mid-20th century from Congo from the Songye tribe.

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Named Kifwebe or “Boismasque” – the same type of which was produced by both the Luba and the Songye – this tribal mask imposes itself with its masterful dimensions.

The term Kifwebe refers to the mask – the society of masks – and to the wearer of the mask belonging to the male secret society bwadi bwa kifwebe.

There are three variants: the masculine (kilume) generally with a high crest - the feminine (kikashi) with a very low or absent crest - and finally the greatest embodying power (kia ndoshi).

Material: Wood

Age: mid-20th century

Origin: Congo

Tribe: Songye

Chair from the Chokwé Tribe, mid-20th century.

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Most seats in sub-Saharan Africa are low stools carved from a single block of wood. However, as early as the 16th century, Portuguese traders and explorers introduced back chairs to southern and eastern Africa. Chokwe artists soon began producing similar chairs by adding sculptural scenes and Chokwe motifs.

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Fang's Ngil masks are generally characterized by a face consisting of high orbital cavities on either side of a long straight nose separating two fine eye incisions.

The appearance of these masks coated with kaolin (the white color would evoke the power of the ancestors) in the middle of the night could arouse fear.

This type of mask was used by the Ngil male society which no longer exists today.

This secret society was responsible for initiations and fought against witchcraft. The wearers of these masks always appeared in large numbers at night lit by torches.

Material: wood

Age: mid-20th century

Origin: Gabon

Tribe: Fang

A unique piece. The items shown in the picture are exactly the items you will receive.

Stunning chef stool hand carved from a single piece of wood

A beautifully carved stool from Mali.

The ancestral figures or nommo are symmetrical and geometric sculpted in relief.

They support the higher seat and should represent ancestors seen as authority figures.

According to Dogon cosmogony, the stool is made up of two discs; one representing the sky and the other the earth.

It shows signs of wear due to aging but remains remarkably solid.

Material: Wood

Age: mid-20th century

Origin: Mali

Tribe: Dogon

A unique piece. The items shown in the picture are exactly the items you will receive.

Superb chef's stool hand carved from a single piece of wood by the Baga tribe of Guinea-Bissau.

Stools are a minor art form for the Baga whose large masks and snake figures are among the largest and most impressive in Africa.

Striking modern pumpkin shape with intricate decorative carvings around the top edge.

It shows signs of wear due to aging but remains remarkably solid.

Material: Wood

Age: mid-20th century

Origin: Guinea Bissau

Tribe: Baga

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Chairs and stools are prestigious objects for the Kota people of Gabon.

You can notice how they use similar characteristics on all of their sculptures and other subjects that they create. L

The seat is decorated with various geometric patterns engraved in what appears to be copper and brass.

It shows signs of wear due to aging but remains remarkably solid.

Material: Wood, Brass and Copper

Age: mid-20th century

Origin: Gabon

Tribe: Kota

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Wooden male king (Ndop) figure.

The figure sits cross-legged on a square platform (yiing) carved with a representation of a climbing vine.

Ndop statues are idealized representations of the Nyimi or kings of the Kuba kingdom.

Material: Wood

Age: mid-20th century

Origin: Congo

Tribe: Kuba Bushoong

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Little is known about the Nok culture, which is defined largely on the basis of its stunning terracotta artwork.

Aesthetically, the sculpture is both naturalistic and expressionistic, with very distinctive elongated forms, triangular eyes, pierced pupils and nostrils, and elaborate hairstyles.

The function of this art is unclear, although the care with which they are executed has led some to claim that they represent nobility.

Material: Terracotta

Age: mid-20th century

Origin: Nigeria

Tribe: Nok

Tribe: Kuba Bushoong

Large statuette presenting a reproduction of an "Ombra della Sera", a masterpiece of Etruscan Art dating from the 3rd century BC. BC, from ancient foundries in the Volterra region of Italy, and preserved at the Guarnacci Museum.

The story goes that Giacometti, in love with these statuettes, was inspired by them to design his emblematic sculptures.

Its workshop bronze patina gives it a warm and authentic appearance.

Material: bronze finish metal.

A very beautiful contemporary artisanal work for this beautiful object of Art.

For a refined and eternal interior decoration.