Online catalogue for the 63rd tribal art auction with special part 'wunderkammer'

311 Standing male fetish figure

This object is not available any more.

Togo, Losso

wood, middle brown patina with remains of dark brown pigment, crudely carved in reduced forms, showing a cylindrical corpus with disc-shaped flattened shoulders and arms carved in relief, supporting a bulky head with crested coiffure, dam., missing parts through insect caused damage (leg and face half right hand side, breast, left upper arm and back), cracks, paint rubbed off, on block-like base; old collection label backside, inscribed: "Fétiche Trouve en 1914 dans les Grottes de la Région de Pewa près d`Aledjo - Cadara (Cercle de Sokodo, Togo)".

H: 62 cm, coll. in situ (found nearby Sokode, Togo, in a cave nearby Aledja), 1914
H: 24.4 inch, coll. in situ (found nearby Sokode, Togo, in a cave nearby Aledja), 1914

Provenance
Basler Missionary Society
Collection Siegrist, Basel, Switzerland
René David, Zurich, Switzerland (1969)
Coll. Heinz Seeliger, Würzburg, Germany

Literature
Krieger, Kurt, Westafrikanische Plastik, Vol. I, Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin 1978, No 37 (not illustrated)
von Sydow, Eckart, Afrikanische Plastik, Berlin, New York, 1954, pl. 113 B

Sold.

312 Shrine figure "vodun-bochio"

This object is not available any more.

Benin, Fon

two-parted, wooden core, the body entirely covered with a thick layer of clay-like mass, only the head and a small round base left free, the shoulders flattened, with four metal badges, additional: a crossbar with projecting nail on the underside, which was placed on top of the head and was held in balance by two weights attached on both sides, traces of sacrificial patina all over, slightly dam.; "bocchios" are guardian figures and should keep away evil spirits. Therefore they were provided with magial substances and received various sacrifices in order to consecrate them.

H: 39 cm, B: 29 cm (Querholz)
H: 15.4 inch, B: 11.4 inch (Querholz)

Provenance
Coll. Heinz Seeliger, Würzburg, Germany

Literature
Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten Marl (Hg.), Skulpturen und Objekte aus der Region des Königreiches Dahomey, Marl 2008, ill. 20

Sold.

313 Brass objects

This object is not available any more.

Benin, Fon

partly with patina, standing figure, right arm and left leg missing, acrylic base, h: 12 cm; in form of a deer with punched ornaments, h: 12 cm; a female figure with child and separate worked wooden barrel and pounder, h: 15,5 cm; additional: a bell with the handle in form of a snake, h: 11 cm

Provenance
Coll. Heinz Seeliger, Würzburg, Germany

Sold.

314 Ivory objects

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Yoruba

group of 5 pieces, matt patina, 3 Ifa oracle heads, each rising from a circular base, fine grooved coiffure with long plait backside, linear incised scarification marks, h: 7,5 cm - 8 cm; an Ifa oracle tapper, decorated with linear and dotted incisions, h: 14 cm; additional: a further ivory object with three circular drillings, h: 9,5 cm; all on acrylic base

Provenance
Kegel-Konietzko, Hamburg, Germany (head, 7,5 cm)
Coll. Heinz Seeliger, Würzburg, Germany

Price: 500 - 1000 €

315 Two figures and oracle board

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Yoruba

brass with patina, a sitting male figure, holding a knife in the right hand, acrylic base, h: 13 cm; a standing male figure in schematized forms, h: 14 cm; additional: an oracle board "opon ofa", wood, dark brown patina, carved with the mask face of "eshu", D: 27 cm

Provenance
R. Schröder, Lome, Togo, 1971(seated figure)
Coll. Heinz Seeliger, Würzburg, Germany

Price: 500 - 1000 €

316 Pair of twin figures "ere ibeji"

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Yoruba, Area of Ede

wood, dark brown and reddish brown patina, black paint, traces of indigo blue, camwood powder "osun", strings of glass beads, a male and a female with voluminous bodies, the elongated heads crowned by high towering coiffures with grooves, angle-shaped scarification marks on the cheeks, pupils with nail heads, slightly dam., cracks, paint rubbed off

H: 30 cm, coll. in Ibadan
H: 11.8 inch, coll. in Ibadan

Provenance
Coll. Heinz Seeliger, Würzburg, Germany

Sold.

317 Female pair of twin figures "ere ibeji"

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Yoruba, Area of Ilobu

wood, dark reddish brown patina, remains of indigo blue paint at the coiffure, encrusted with camwood powder "osun", strings of ancient glass beads, incised vertical and horizontal scarification marks on the cheeks, slightly dam., traces of insect caused damage (coiffure and left face half of the smaller figure, both bases), minor missing parts at the mouth of the bigger figure; the small missing parts in the mouth area possibly traces of symbolic feeding procedures.

H: 23,5 cm, resp. 24,5 cm
H: 9.3 inch, resp. 9.6 inch

Provenance
Coll. Heinz Seeliger, Würzburg, Germany

Sold.

318 Twin figure "ere ibeji"

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Yoruba, Area of Abeokuta

wood, honey brown patina, string with ancient blue glass beads, rising from a square base, straight arms stiffly projecting from the body with the angle-shaped finger tips resting aside the thighs, crowned by an egg-shaped head with crested coiffure widely projecting to the back, lancet-shaped scarification marks, pierced pupils, slightly dam. (mouth, nose), traces of insect caused damage (backside at the coiffure), acrylic base

H: 24 cm
H: 9.4 inch

Provenance
Aloys Faust, Cologne, Germany (1961)
Coll. Heinz Seeliger, Würzburg, Germany

Sold.

319 Four twin figures "ere ibeji"

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Yoruba

wood, dark brown patina, pair of twin figures (male/female) in cowrie snail cape, heads with identical facial features and coiffure in six lobes, slightly dam., missing parts (coiffure of one figure), h: 30 cm, the endowment of figures with cowrie capes was determined to show the special appreciation towards the deceased and was an indicator of the families prosperity as well; male twin figure, Abeokuta, abundant decor with strings of glass beads, cowrie snails and brass rings, slightly dam. (nose, disc-shaped coiffure), h: 30cm; female twin figure, Gbongan-Modakeke, strings with ancient glass beads, incised scarification marks on the face, slightly dam. (nose, mouth, coiffure), paint rubbed off, h: 28 cm; the figures bare the name of the deceased. The small bead necklaces are presents for the "substitute twin". For the Yoruba the birth of twins promised wealth and prosperity, which is symbolized by the attached strings of cowrie snails .

Provenance
coll. in Lome, Togo, 1973 (Abeokuta)
Marcel Lemaire, Brussels, Belgium, 1962 (Gbongan-Modakeke)
Coll. Heinz Seeliger, Würzburg, Germany

Sold.

320 Regal beaded crown "ade"

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Yoruba

a conical, starched cloth structure over a framework of palm fibres, covered with strings of multi-coloured beads, forming 12 schematized human faces in shallow relief, a small bird figure on top, a veil of strings of beads around the lower rim, slightly dam., acrylic base; the faces are a reference to the "inner head", or personal destiny, of the king and his ancestors. Sometimes the face is also interpreted as that of "odudua", the ancestor and progenitor of all the Yoruba kings. The crown, which turns the king into a superhuman being, has itself been charged with power by the magic substance concealed in the very top.

H: 51,5 cm
H: 20.3 inch

Provenance
Galerie Schwarz-Weiß, Munich, Germany (1981)
Coll. Heinz Seeliger, Würzburg, Germany

Literature
Witte, Hans, A Closer Look, Local Styles in the Yoruba Art Collection of the Africa Museum, Berg en Dal 2004, ill. 220

Sold.