Online catalogue for the 60th tribal art auction

241 Bracelet of "ogboni" society

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Yoruba

brass with patina, open work design, decorated with four human figures and several ornaments, small eyelets with attached bells, min. dam., traces of corrosion, small missing parts

H: 13 cm
H: 5.1 inch

Sold.

242 Bracelet of "ogboni" society

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Yoruba

brass with patina, openwork design, decorated with four human faces, arranged vice versa, fine concentrical circle ornaments inbetween, flat rims with attached bells, traces of corrosion, small missing parts; worn by kings, priests and "oshogbo" officials, part of the burial offering for deceased. Nowadays they are sometimes displayed on family altars, serving as ring-shaped support for calabashs.

H: 12 cm
H: 4.7 inch

Literature
Witte, Hans, Earth and the Ancestors: Ogboni Iconography, Amsterdam 1988, p. 165, ill. 81

Price: 650 - 1500 €

243 Bracelet of Ogboni Society

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Yoruba

corroded bronze, of closed form with flat rim, decorated with several protruding human faces, min. dam., small missing parts, signs of abrasion

H: 9,5 cm; D: 9,5 cm, 19th century
H: 3.7 inch; D: 3.7 inch, 19th century

Literature
Witte, Hans, Earth and the Ancestors: Ogboni Iconography, Amsterdam 1988, p. 168

Sold.

244 Lidded container

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Yoruba

wood, brown patina, of elongated form, the whole container decorated with ornaments and zoomorphic forms (reptiles), the lid crowned with a snake in relief, min. dam., traces of insect caused damage

L: 59 cm
L: 23.2 inch

Price: 500 - 1000 €

245 Receptacle in the shape of a duck

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Yoruba

wood, reddish brown patina with traces of black paint, egg-shaped receptacle, flattened at the bottom, subdivided interior, the lid carved with a birds head and broad expanded tail feathers, elaborate carved, diamond-shaped feathers in the shoulder area, slightly dam., minor missing parts (rim of the receptacle on one side); animal-shaped receptacles were predominantly used for storing embellishment and offering cola nuts to guests.

L: 52 cm
L: 20.5 inch

Provenance
Joseph Christiaens, Brussels, Belgium

Price: 600 - 1200 €

246 Receptacle in the shape of a duck

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Yoruba

wood, brown patina, rising from short legs, the corpus decorated with linear incisions, min. dam., slight signs of abrasion

L: 39 cm
L: 15.4 inch

Literature
Eisenhofer, Stefan (Hg.), Kulte, Künstler, Könige in Afrika - Tradition und Moderne in Südnigeria, Linz 1997, p. 306

Price: 500 - 1000 €

247 Divination bowl "agere ifa"

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Yoruba

wood, dark brown encrusted patina, small residues of polychrome paint, a disc-shaped base, carved with a kneeling female figure supporting a flat bowl on top, holding a child and carrying a second one on the back, surrounded by four smaller figures arranged all around, slightly dam., missing parts (projections around the rim of the bowl), traces of insect caused damage (breast of the kneeling figure), place of reapair (base)

H: 20 cm; D: 16 cm
H: 7.9 inch; D: 6.3 inch

Provenance
Private Collection, Germany

Literature
Eisenhofer, Stefan (Hg.), Kulte, Künstler, Könige in Afrika - Tradition und Moderne in Südnigeria, Linz 1997, p. 192 f.

Price: 1800 - 3500 €

248 Bowl with lid for keeping ifa-oracle implements

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Yoruba

wood, spotty brown, partly encrusted patina, massive, round form with half-spherical lid, decorated with figural motifs: face of "eshu", tortoise, club, staff "oshe shango" und various geometrical forms, oracle equipment inside (rectangular oracle board "opon ifa", fly whisk, metal bell, cloth, necklaces, various stones, coins, magical mass and bones), min. dam., fissures, missing parts (rim), signs of abrasion; "ifa" is a Yoruba system of divination, a power which regulates everything, the personfication of divine wisdom which avoids harm.

D: 42 cm
D: 16.5 inch

Provenance
Bernd Schlimper, Düsseldorf, Germany

Literature
Eisenhofer, Stefan (Hg.), Kulte, Künstler, Könige in Afrika - Tradition und Moderne in Südnigeria, Linz 1997, p. 198

Price: 700 - 1400 €

249 Divination bowl "agere ifa"

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Yoruba

bronze, residues of black paint, a disc-shaped base, supporting a long stem with janus head, a flat hollowed bowl on top, plaited band ornaments at the rims, half-circular eyelets running around, the base slightly deformed, small traces of corrosion; the divination bowls serve for keeping the 16 holy palm nuts ("ikin"), which are used for the questioning of the oracle. Sometimes the sooth-saying necklace "opele" is used instead. Further utensiles are the oracle boards "opon ifa", almost always carved with the face of "orisha eshu", the "trickster god", the "ifa tapper", at the same time serving as a bell, for calling the "orisha" (deities), and small bone figures "ikin ifa", as guards. During the prophecy, the "babalawo" (priest) spreads the "opon ifa" with flour, throws the palm nuts on the board and generates the oracle from the lines drawn on the plate. The "ifa" oracle is used in whole Yoruba country and similar soothsaying systems are known all over West Africa.

H: 15,5 cm, 18th/19th century
H: 6.1 inch, 18th/19th century

Literature
Fagg, William, List, Herbert, Bildwerke aus Nigeria, München 1963, ill. 63 a
Eisenhofer, Stefan (Hg.), Kulte, Künstler, Könige in Afrika - Tradition und Moderne in Südnigeria, Linz 1997, p. 190 f.
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Lexikon Afrikanische Kunst und Kultur, München, Berlin 1994, p. 191

Price: 6000 - 12000 €

250 Helmet mask

This object is not available any more.

Cameroon Grassfields, Babanki

light brown wood, brown patina, voluminous forms, showing tribe-typical facial features and a "smiling" mouth, crowned by a cap-like coiffure with a hole on top, collection number on both sides: "S.S. 827", additional collection label on the left: "Stiftung Dr. Schwabe Af. 827", writing on the back of the head: "MAf 33810 Babanki-Tungo Kamerun (Grasland)", min. dam., fissures, slight signs of abrasion; probably a female mask "ngoin". The complete traditional vestment consists of a garment in blue and white royal cloth and a flywhisk. The mask dancer moved in short contained steps appropriate to her noble image. "Ngoin" usually follows the leader mask in the dance sequence which includes several "ngoin" masks to complement the male human masks. Babanki masks retain the imposing presence which characterizes Grassfield art, but are without its aggressive expressionist quality. It is the "prettiest" style of the Grassfields.

H: 26 cm
H: 10.2 inch

Provenance
Grassi Museum, Leipzig, Germany
Stiftung Dr. Schwabe, Leipzig, Germany

Literature
Germann, Paul, Das plastisch-figürliche Kunstgewerbe im Graslande von Kamerun, o.O., o. J., p. 15, ill. 12
Northern, Tamara, The Art of Cameroon, Washington D.C. 1984, p. 150, ill. 81

Sold.