Online catalogue for the 55th tribal art auction

381 Prestige stool

This object is not available any more.

Kamerun

wood, dark brown patina, encrusted in some areas, a ring-shaped base, carved with a cylindrical corpus in openwork design, consisting of snake-like interwoven horizontal elements, vertical struts supporting the round seat on top, slightly dam., paint rubbed off, broken (seat, corpus below)

H: 33 cm; D: 33 cm, (4788/005)
H: 13 inch; D: 13 inch

Price: 600 - 900 €

382 Gaming piece "abia"

This object is not available any more.

Kamerun

nut shell, 12 pieces, of pointed oval form, partly decorated with zoomorphic motifs, partly decorated with ornaments, min. dam., slight signs of usage

L: ~ 3,5 cm, (4785/015)
L: ~ 1.4 inch

Literature
Gardi, Bernhard, Kunst in Kamerun, Basel 1994, p. 69, ill. 68

Sold for: 300 €

383 Big bell

This object is not available any more.

Kamerun

corroded metal, of conical form, leather strip for support on top, min. dam., traces of corrosion, small missing parts, on metal base

H: 102 cm, (4707/005)
H: 40.2 inch

Provenance
Coll. Pierre Robin, Paris, France

Price: 400 - 600 €

384 Buffalo mask

This object is not available any more.

Bali, Kamerun

wood, blackish brown patina, encrusted in some areas, voluminous and expressive in form but with striking symmetrical features, a helmet-shaped base, carved with an elongated face, domintated by big raised eyes and by the crowning coiffure of grooved spherical projections, slightly dam., paint rubbed off, insect caused missing parts at the back of the rim and at the coiffure, on metal base; the skull of a buffalo is associated with chiefly authority. This animal gives its horn for producing drinking horns which were widely used as prestige symbols and were handed down from one generation to the other. Thus, the buffalo is not only a royal symbol, but stands for the connection between different generations and between the village chief and the Fon as well.

H: 47 cm, coll. in situ (4786/004)
H: 18.5 inch, coll. in situ (4786/004)

Provenance
Coll. Karl Woermann, Hamburg, Germany

Literature
Gardi, Bernhard, Kunst in Kamerun, Basel 1994, p. 94, ill. 96

Sold for: 2900 €

385 Janus headed night mask of the secret society "troh"

This object is not available any more.

Bangwa, Kamerun

wood, brown encrusted patina, helmet-shaped, both sides carved with a human face with almost identical facial features: a bulging forehead with big almond-shaped eyes below, flanking a flat triangular nose, an open broad mouth underneath, min. dam., cracks, signs of abrasion and usage; the masks of the Night society are astonishingly varied in form. Most of them show a violent facial expression, corresponding to their frightening role. Night masks remain unadorned, without feathers, mirror glass, paint or animal skin. Years of repeated libations give them a thick patina which enhances their effectiveness as emblems of the Night society.

H: 26,5 cm, (4794/026)
H: 10.4 inch

Provenance
Dr. Karl-Ferdinand Schädler, Munich, Germany
Private Collection, Stuttgart, Germany

Literature
von Lintig, Bettina, Cameroun, Galerie Dulon, Paris 2006, p. 101

Sold for: 4400 €

386 Pair of figures

This object is not available any more.

Bangwa, Kamerun

wood, blackish brown patina, real hair, traces of red paint, a male and a female figure, showing broad and compact bodies with voluminous, round forms, each of them standing on short, stocky legs, anchored to the earth by large-scale soles, supporting strong upper parts of the body with broad shoulders and long free carved arms, the females arms arranged handle-shaped in front of the body, while the male supports a knife with his oversized left hand, short necks carry spherical heads with protruding ears, the facial features dominated by small eyes with mother-of-pearl inlay, flanking a short, triangular nose with a protruding mouth below, imbedded between well-rounded cheeks, dotted, resp., linear scarification marks on face and body, accentuation of sexual characteristics (e. g. beard of the male figure marked by real hair), slightly dam., minor missing parts (foot and nose tips, left ear of the female), traces of insect caused damage (left side of the females body), places of repair (left wrist and lower arm of the female, right foot tip and thumb of the male figure); Bettina von Lintig ascribed present figures to the eastern Bangwa. She refers to comparable objects from the previous Bareiss Collection, see: Kilengi, Afrikanische Kunst aus der Sammlung Bareiss (1997), p. 299 and African Masterpieces from Munich (1987), p. 194, ill. 201. These figures are probably a representation of a lineage head and his first wife or mother. The muscular physique of the male, his oversize hands, the arming with a big knife and the accentuation of the male gender, can well be looked upon as signs of his strength and significance. The Bangwa are one out of several ethnical communities forming the big Bamileke group in the Western Grassfields of Cameroon. They count about forty- up to fiftythousand people, living in the mountainous regions around Fontem and in the area of the Cross-River-Basin.

H: 36 cm (female); 37,5 cm (male), (4770/001)
H: 14.2 inch (female); 14.8 inch (male)

Provenance
Private Coll. Aloys Faust, Cologne, Germany (1930)

Literature
Roy, Christopher D., Kilengi, Afrikanische Kunst aus der Sammlung Bareiss, München 1997, p. 299, ill. 193
Kecskési, Maria, African masterpieces and selected works from Munich: The Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde, New York 1987, p. 194, ill. 201
Von Lintig, Bettina, Cameroun, Galerie Dulon, Paris 2006, p. 71

Price: 25000 - 40000 €

387 Standing male figure

This object is not available any more.

Kaka, Kamerun

wood, blackish brown encrusted patina, angled legs with tapering knees supporting a stocky trunk with sloping, square shoulders and with both arms carved close to the body, the neckless head with disc-shaped coiffure dominated by slanting eyebrows, giving the face a somehow ferocious expression, half spherical eyes flanking a broad flattened nose, slightly dam., minor missing parts (nose, ears, coiffure), paint rubbed off, cracks, on base

H: 32,5 cm, (4763/005)
H: 12.8 inch

Provenance
John Dintenfass, New York, USA

Literature
Dr. Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Lexikon Afrikanische Kunst und Kultur, München/Berlin 1994, p. 208

Price: 3000 - 4500 €

388 Standing male ancestor figure

This object is not available any more.

Kaka, Kamerun

u-shaped legs with zigzag contours to the front, supporting a slender trunk, clamp-like enclosed by the massive shoulders and free carved arms, a funnel-shaped head with a flattened facial plane, the tapering chin projecting down to the breast, no facial features marked, aside from the deepened mouth with notched rim, the head crowned by a crested coiffure, carrying a child on the back, slightly dam., cracks, abrasion, on metal plate; the Kaka have nothing to do with the Keaka. They are a small ethnic group of around 18000 people, living in the western Cameroon, along the Donga River and are related to their southern Tikar neighbours, with whom they share certain customs. The present figure is an ancestor effigy, for ancestor veneration has a place of prime importance for them. It is supervised by "wantop", one of the members of the chieftains counsel, within the framework of the liturgies of the "mbir" male secret society. Through the great Kaka works, we can see one of the centers of the great African expressionist movement that extends from the Bénué to the Cameroonian Grassfield.

H: 53 cm, (4767/006)
H: 20.9 inch

Provenance
Gall. Bernard, Ramatuelle, France
Private Collection, Cologne, Germany

Literature
Pierre Harter, Keaka, Kaka & "KAKA", in: Tribal Arts, September 1994, p. 45 ff.
Dr. Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Lexikon Afrikanische Kunst und Kultur, München/Berlin 1994, p. 208

Sold for: 14000 €

389 Female figure

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Mambila, Kamerun

wood, remains of polychrome paint, of stylized forms, with big feet rising from long, bent legs, supporting a compact trunk with straight upraised arms and big hands, a rectangular cavity for magical mass on the back, a strong neck supporting a round head with expressive facial features, collection number on the back, min. dam., repaired (left leg, left arm), signs of abrasion; in Fulani language Mambila means "humans", while they call themselves "nor". They had no kingship and no central power, but a village chief, who was supported by the so-called "mimin" society. They believed in the Maker, whom they used to call "nama" or "chang", but a cult only existed for family ancestors. Most of their figures are representations of the deceased.The figures of the Mambila are either ancestor or guardian figures, which are kept in niches and sometimes contain medicine (often inserted in cavities on the back).

H: 32 cm, (4666/059)
H: 12.6 inch

Provenance
University of Virginia Art Museum (1980.47.8), USA

Price: 2000 - 3000 €

390 Ritual implement

This object is not available any more.

Tikar, Kamerun

light-weighted wood, blackened, cylindrical base, carved with two rectangular cavities arranged on top of each other, crowned by a standing figure with free carved arms, supporting an indicated receptacle in front of the abdomen, the head with crown-shaped coiffure, arranged in three teeth, flattened facial features, on wooden plate

H: 28 cm, (4794/007)
H: 11 inch

Provenance
Private Collection, Stuttgart, Germany

Price: 550 - 850 €