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

451 Figural group

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Adamaua

beige coloured terracotta, traces of black pigment, a big sitting figure in the centre, surrounded by three, symmetrical arranged smaller figures, characterized by bowl-shaped heads with crested coiffures and horn-like projections, each of them hollowed and provided with various openings, dam. (foot and nose tips, crests etc.), places of repair (neck of the big figure, neck and arm of the left figure); served as protectors in the field, so called "guardians de champs". The open mouth should scare away intruders.

H: 50 cm
H: 19.7 inch

Literature
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Erde und Erz, München 1997, p. 190 f.

Sold.

452 Dance crest

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Boki

wooden core, coated with animal skin, just eyes and mouth left free, brows and raised scarification marks accentuated by black paint, inserted wooden teeth, beard and coiffure made of real hair, the hairline contoured by plaited plant fibre, abundant hangings of twisted cord material backside, slightly dam., missing parts and cracks in the leather (inner rim of the right eye, left temple), round base; just like their neighbours the Ekoi/Ejagham and other ethnies of the Crossriver area, the Boki cultivated a headhunting tradition with the corresponding head crests. These were allegedly have originally been made of real human skulls from killed enemies. They were exhibited on special trophee parades, worn by young men as a sign of manliness. In areas whose population was constantly under the threat of raids, clan feuds, tribal warfare or slave hunts it comes as no surprise that the skill of a young man in combat was measured by this kind of practice. Lateron the real skulls were subsituted by wooden replicas. There was a transition from a trophy cult to a cult of skulls/ancestors. Correspondingly they were no longer used for war masquerades but for initiation rites and in funeral ceremonies. The headdresses have a realistic, but not a portrayal character. They do not represent one specific ancestor. In fact they were handed down from one generation to another, thus - as a whole - embodying the nobel doings of every ancestor, who ever possessed it.

H: 26,5 cm
H: 10.4 inch

Provenance
Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany

Literature
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Ekoi, München 1982

Price: 15000 - 30000 €

453 Standing figure

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Chamba

wood, reddish brown patina, the face framed by c-shaped ears, crowned by a conical headgear, min. dam., cracks, slight traces of abrasion, on wooden base; in the 17th century the Chamba settled south of the Benue nearby the Jukun. Statuettes of the Chamba are quite rare. The staff-like "tauwa" figures can be found more frequently. They are protective figures which primarily should help against snake-bites. Present figure represents an ancestor.

H: 36,5 cm
H: 14.4 inch

Provenance
Private Collection, France

Literature
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Lexikon Afrikanische Kunst und Kultur, München, Berlin 1994, p. 107

Sold.

454 Staff

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Eket

wood, slightly encrusted brown patina, carved with a standing figure, min. dam., minor missing parts (handle, left forearm, nose tip), fissures, on wooden base; the Eket are a small ethnic group belonging to the Ibibio, settling in about 45 villages. Just like the Ibibio the Eket have an "ekpo" society, a society of soothsayers, called "idiong", a society named after the god of war "ekong" and the "ogbom" society worshipping the goddess of fertility.

H: 47 cm
H: 18.5 inch

Provenance
Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels, Belgium

Literature
Neyt, Francois, L'Art Eket, Paris 1979, ill. 48

Price: 3000 - 6000 €

455 Anthropomorphic face mask

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Ibibio

wood, dark brown patina, strongly encrusted, kaolin, expressive form: half spherical bulging eyes in large hollows and an oval pierced mouth with tapering teeth defining the facial contours, diamond-shaped pierced nose, dam., minor missing parts (eyes, mouth, brows), backside at the rim and inside strong traces of insect caused damage, on metal base

H: 37 cm
H: 14.6 inch

Provenance
Sol & Josephine Levitt, New York, USA

Sold.

456 Mask with movable jaw "idiok ekpo"

add to watchlist

Nigeria, Ibibio

wood, black patina, expressive forms, voluminous hanging cheeks, openings as see holes for the mask dancer, crossbar backside for fixing the mask with the teeth, movable jaw with a row of tapering teeth, fixed by plant fibre, dam., missing parts (teeth, jaw, eyes)

H: 28 cm, coll. in situ, 1970
H: 11 inch, coll. in situ, 1970

Literature
Wittmer, Marcilene K., Arnett, William, Three Rivers of Nigeria, Atlanta 1978, p. 64 f.

Price: 600 - 1200 €

457 Two deformation masks "idiok ekpo"

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Ibibio

wood, blackish brown patina, encrusted in some areas, both with extremely dislocated facial features, one of them cylindrical in form with an elongated trunk-like nose and sloping mouth; the second mask with jagged beard, distorted nose and exposed dentition, both dam., with minor missing parts, the cylindrical mask with traces of insect caused damage on the forehead; various ethnical groups produced sickness masks. Aside of "gangosa pharyngitis" above all facial paralysis is depicted. Such illnesses are thought to be evidence of evil, and thus frequently are seen as subjects of "ugly ghost" masks.

H: 28 cm resp. 31 cm, coll. in situ, 1970
H: 11 inch resp. 12.2 inch, coll. in situ, 1970

Literature
Herreman, Frank, To Cure and Protect, Sickness and Health in African Art, New York 1999, p. 12

Sold.

458 Two masks

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Ibibio

wood, black patina, mask with drop-shaped contours and a diamond-shaped, teeth-revealing mouth, pigment remains, paint rubbed off, missing parts through insect caused damage (right eye, backside, rim); mask "idiok ekpo" with originally movable jaw (the lower jaw now missing), paint rubbed off, dam., missing parts (nose, mouth, eyes, teeth), traces of insect caused damage backside

H: 29,5 cm resp. 21 cm, coll. in situ, 1970
H: 11.6 inch resp. 8.3 inch, coll. in situ, 1970

Sold.

459 Mask with hinged jaw "idiok ekpo"

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Ibibio

wood, blackish brown patina, encrusted in some areas, kaolin (eye zone), dominated by large, cut out eyes, accentuated by strong brows and tubular projections in pairs on either side, burl in the middle of the forehead, the movable jaw fixed by plant fibre, a row of jagged teeth inside, slightly dam., cracks (head, right rim), old place of repair (left rim), paint rubbed off, on metal base; among the masquerades of the "ekpo" society exists a number of quite different types of masks, which may be separated in two groups: the "ugly ghost" masks, "idiok", which represent restless spirits, and the "mfon" masks which represent those spirits who have already reached paradise. Included in the "idiok" masking type are also illness masks.

H: 29 cm
H: 11.4 inch

Provenance
Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany

Literature
Wittmer, Marcilene K., Arnett, William, Three Rivers of Nigeria, Atlanta 1978, p. 64 f.
Kerchache, Jacques, Paudrat, Jean-Louis u.a., Die Kunst des Schwarzen Afrika, Freiburg, Basel, Wien 1988, p. 562 f.
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture, München 2009, p. 278

Sold.

460 Face mask

This object is not available any more.

Nigeria, Igala

wood, dark brown patina, kaolin, traces of black paint, half-spherical head with roof-like protruding forehead, the concave vaulted facial plane ending in a rosette-shaped mouth, diagonal incised scarifications on the temples, grooved coiffure, sacrificial traces on top of the head (feathers), missing parts (backside on the upper rim), on metal base; the Igala are living at the left riverbank of the Niger. They are neighbouring the Igbo and the Idoma, but they had been in contact with the Bini, Yoruba and Jukun ever since. The spirits of the ancestors were honoured two times a year, one day in rainy season and one in dry season. During those days, which were called "ote egu" ("water for the spirits"), each mask type of the Igala appeared: ancestor spirit masks, a number of royal masks and zoomorphic masks.

H: 34 cm
H: 13.4 inch

Provenance
Yves & Ewa Develon, Paris, France

Published in
Het HOOFD Ten Voeten Uit, The Head, A Full-Length Portrait, Dr. Guislain Museum, Ghent 2001

Price: 8000 - 15000 €