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

361 Female figure "jo nyeleni"

This object is not available any more.

Mali, Bamana

wood, spotty, brown patina, rising from thin legs, supporting a slender trunk with tapering breasts and square shoulders, oval head with simplified facial features, min. dam., rep. (right leg), traces of insect caused damage, slight signs of abrasion, on wooden base; such figures represent the "beautiful young women of jo". The new initiates travelled around for several months, visiting the villages nearby to point out their new state of adulthood, and demonstrate their wish to marry. "Nyeleni" figures illustrate the characteristic features of young Bamana women of marriageable age.

H: 68 cm
H: 26.8 inch

Provenance
Adrian Schlag, Brussels, Belgium

Literature
Colleyn, Jean Paul (Hg.), Bamana, Afrikanische Kunst aus Mali, Museum Rietberg, Zürich 2001, p. 157, ill. 140

Sold.

362 Antelope dance crest "tjiwara"

This object is not available any more.

Mali, Bamana

wood, dark brown patina, collar of metal sheet, rising from a pedestal with four drilled holes for attachment, body and head decorated with incisions, elongated head with long pointed backswept horns, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion, on wooden base; the "tjiwara" mask dancer wears a shaggy tunic, braided with long black fibre with cotton tassels and a cap of cotton or plant fibre weaving. Present "tjiwara" belongs to the horizontal (female) type, which can mostly be found in the Western Bamana region.

H: 27 cm; L: 56 cm
H: 10.6 inch; L: 22 inch

Provenance
Peter Pollack, New York, USA

Published in
Peter Pollack, Understanding Primitve Art, New York 1975

Price: 4500 - 9000 €

363 Antelope dance crest "sogi ni kun" or "tjiwara"

This object is not available any more.

Mali, Bamana

wood of the "dondol" ("bombax cornui"), reddish brown patina, traces of black paint, highly abstract body on disc-shaped base, the head reminding of the face masks of the Bamana, flat rectangular plates with three tapering horns on each side, linear incisions, slightly dam., paint rubbed off, on base; "sogi ni kun" describes a head crest as well as a masquerade. It came to being in the Wasolon area and was established in the neighbouring regions as well. Just like the "tjiwara" society, the "sogi ni kun" is an association of juveniles ("ton"). The mask dancers appear at working competitions which take place in the villages or on the fields.

H: 37,5 cm
H: 14.8 inch

Provenance
Harrie Heinemans, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Coll. Wim & Willy Spruit, Oss, The Netherlands

Literature
Colleyn, Jean Paul (Hg.), Bamana, Afrikanische Kunst aus Mali, Museum Rietberg, Zürich 2001, p. 221

Price: 3000 - 6000 €

364 Door lock

This object is not available any more.

Mali, Bamana

wood, blackish brown, partly encrusted patina, of simple elegant form, exremely elongated neck with delicate carved anthropomorphic head, incised diamond-shaped decor, two metal clamps backside, cross bolt missing, slightly dam. (nose, ears), missing parts through insect caused damage backside, on metal base

H: 36 cm
H: 14.2 inch

Provenance
Gapereaux, Toulouse, France

Price: 1000 - 2000 €

365 Standing female figure

This object is not available any more.

Mali, Dogon

wood, dark brown patina, clamp-like arranged arms densely enclosing the cylindrical trunk, both hands resting aside the abdomen, accentuated breasts, incised scarification marks, slightly dam. (nose, ears, coiffure), cracks, abrasion

H: 31 cm
H: 12.2 inch

Provenance
Jean-Baptiste Bedaux, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Sold.

366 Small standing figure

This object is not available any more.

Mali, Dogon

wood, brown patina, the feet amalgamated with the angular base, the head slightly displaced to the right, showing tribe-typical facial features, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion, on wooden plate; according to K. Ezra the Dogon place their figures on a number of altars devoted to real or mythological ancestors.

H: 22 cm
H: 8.7 inch

Sold.

367 Figure with raised arms "nommo"

This object is not available any more.

Mali, Dogon

wood, encrusted thick patina, abstract in form, showing a block-like stature and androgynous features (beard, breasts), min. dam., fissures, slight traces of abrasion, on wooden base; the theme of upraised arms is related to a number of mythical elements. The "nommo" ancestor lifts his arms up to the sky to beg for rain or forgiveness. There is strong evidence that the Dogon used sculptures taken from Tellem burial caves for their own rites. The ethnographic use of the majority of these figures is not clearly understood. It is thought that much of the statuary found had been used in relation to the ancestor cult.

H: 44 cm
H: 17.3 inch

Provenance
Adrian Schlag, Brussels, Belgium

Literature
Laude, Jean, African Art of the Dogon, New York 1973, ill. 11

Sold.

368 Sitting female figure

This object is not available any more.

Mali, Dogon

wood, light brown patina, metal tags (eyes), a pair of silver metal nose rings, elongated symmetrical arranged limbs, accentuated femal sex characteristics, dam., missing parts, cracks, traces of insect caused damage (head), sacrificial traces; these figures belong to female societies and were used for the education of young girls. They were displayed on funerals and presumably on certain fertility and rain-making rituals as well. According to H. Leloup they were called "so-ma-so" ("listen to me"), a sentence effective for education and for prayers for fertility as well.

H: 73,5 cm
H: 28.9 inch

Literature
Vogel, Susan, For spirits and kings, African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection, New York 1981, p. 16
Ezra, Kate, Art of the Dogon, Selections from the Lester Wunderman Collection, Metropolitan Museum, New York 1988, ill. 14

Price: 2500 - 5000 €

369 Standing figure

This object is not available any more.

Mali, Dogon

wood, greyish brown thick encrusted patina, rising from a cylindrical base, arms and upper part of the body elongated, a thin, columnar neck supporting a small head with pointed mouth, large ears and voluminous crested coiffure, slightly dam., minor missing parts (bladebones), cracks (face, base), abrasion, block-like base; presumably belonging to the type of "dege dal nda", the "sculptures of the terrace".

H: 40 cm
H: 15.7 inch

Provenance
Coll. Carl Otto Hultén, Malmö, Sweden (member of the Cobra-Group)
Coll. Berndt Helleberg, Stockholm, Sweden

Sold.

370 Female figure

This object is not available any more.

Dogon, Mali, Area of Senou

wood, shiny, blackish brown patina, rising from bent legs, the hands resting on the knees, crowned by an oval head with elongated chin and the pupils inset with metal tags, framed by pierced ears with metal earrings, further metal adornment in the area of the forehead and the forearms, min. dam., traces of insect caused damage and abrasion, on wooden base

H: 44,5 cm
H: 17.5 inch

Provenance
Pierre Langlois, Paris, France

Literature
Dogon, Galerie Frank van Craen, Paris 2010, p. 43 f.
Dogon, L'eau, l'esprit, Ausst.kat., o.O., 2005, ill. 92

Price: 8000 - 15000 €