Online catalogue for the 68th tribal art auction
191 Standing male figure
Cameroon, Mambila
wood, matt patina, remains of polychrome paint, heart-shaped facial plane with big eyes and open mouth, typical detail: the zigzag-contour of the legs, dam., cracks, traces of insect caused damage, on base; the Mambila 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.
H: 49,5 cm
H: 19.5 inch
Provenance
Eduard Hess, Basel, Switzerland
Price: 1300 - 2000 €
192 Mask "suaga"
Cameroon, Mambila
wood, matt patina, black, red and white patina, carved with a bifurcated pair of horns and a big open snout, rep. (right horn), traces of insect caused damage; the "suaga" mask shows zoomorphic features which hardly can be associated with a certain kind of animal. The open snout could be interpreted as a dog's snout. It is supposed that dogs were ritually killed to produce that kind of masks.
H: 21 cm: L: 40 cm
H: 8.3 inch: L: 15.7 inch
Provenance
Helmut Zimmer, Zurich, Switzerland
Eduard Hess, Basel, Switzerland
Price: 1500 - 2500 €
193 Trumpet
Cameroon, Mambila
wood, dark brown patina, red pigment, kaolin, of elongated form, surmounted by a half figure, min. dam., cracks, traces of abrasion; these trumpets appear in pairs (male and female). They are played at the biannual dances of harvest and planting, periods of diversion when men travel to other villages to participate in sporting events and to renew friendships.
H: 61,5 cm
H: 24.2 inch
Provenance
Gallery Alibaba, Bordeaux, France (1971)
Eduard Hess, Basel, Switzerland
Price: 850 - 1500 €
194 Puppet head
Gabon, Fang
wood, reddish brown patina, traces of kaolin and blackish paint, reduced facial features, the ears carved separate, rectangular cavity at the back of the head, slightly dam., crack (back of the head), metal base; puppet heads of the Fang are rather rare !
H: 18 cm
H: 7.1 inch
Provenance
Harvey Menist, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (1973)
Eduard Hess, Basel, Switzerland
Price: 2500 - 5000 €
195 Head sculpture of a "bieri" - reliquary
This object is not available any more.
Gabon, Fang
wood, rich black patina, regular facial features: a concave vaulted heart-shaped facial plane with big metal eyes, the hairline confined by a diadem-like headband, grooved coiffure with middle ridge, rising from a columnar neck with several drilled holes for attachment at the base, traces of weathering at the same place, slightly dam., minor missing parts, stepped pedestal; the Fang honour their ancestors by keeping their skulls in special bark boxes which are decorated with a head or a figure. The whole object is called "bieri". According to Tessmann (1913) originally only heads were affixed to bieris, the figures are a later version. In any case, head or figure should be a rememberance of the person faded away and it has a guardian function as well, it should keep away non-initiated persons. Bieris are regularly spread with oil or blood and are provided with food.
H: 33 cm
H: 13 inch
Provenance
Hans Hess, Basel, Switzerland (1975)
Eduard Hess, Basel, Switzerland
Sold.
196 Reliquary figure "mbulu" or "mwete"
This object is not available any more.
Gabon, Kota
wood, metal sheet and -tags, oval hollowed face with parallel incisions, the sickle-shaped eyes and the triangular nose worked separate, the neck merging into a diamond-shaped handle, which was inserted into the lid of the skull receptacle, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion and corrosion; the Kota used to fix these stylized head sculptures on top of boxes containing the skulls and bones of important ancestors. They should protect the valuable contents. Housed on a shelf outside the village, the figure was carefully polished with sand to maintain its shining surface which should keep sorcerers away.
H: 52 cm
H: 20.5 inch
Provenance
Harvey T. Menist, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (1972)
Renate Pessler, Basel, Switzerland
Eduard Hess, Basel, Switzerland
Literature
Perrois, Louis, Art ancestral du Gabon dans les collections du Musée Barbier-Mueller, Genf o.J., p. 76
Perrois, Louis, Arts du Gabon, Paris 1979, ill. 193
Sold.
197 dropped
This object is not available any more.
198 dropped
This object is not available any more.
199 Face mask "okuyi"
This object is not available any more.
Gabon, Punu/Lumbo
wood, kaolin, reddish brown patina, remains of black paint, characterized by smooth, lovely forms: sickle-shaped eyes underneath delicate arching brows together with the small mouth creating a cheerful, nearly smiling expression on the face, old collection label backside "H. Hess", min. dam. (nose tip), minor missing parts, paint rubbed off (coiffure), cracks; depicting an idealized female face, according to Hans Himmelheber a deceased woman, who has returned from the realm of the dead. The female gender is proved by hairstyle and diamond-shaped scarification patterns on forehead and temples. "Okuyi"-masks were used at funeral ceremonies. The dancers wore raffia costumes and moved on high stilts while they frightened the audience with ferocious screams. According to E. Leuzinger they spoke with ghostly voices, generated by a secret instrument, consisting of a small gourd.
H: 33 cm
H: 13 inch
Provenance
Lorenz Eckert, Basel, Switzerland (1950)
Hans Hess, Basel, Switzerland (1970)
Eduard Hess, Basel, Switzerland
Published in
Afrique Noire, Sculptures des Collections Privées Suisses, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Musée des Beaux-Arts, 27 Mars - 6 Juin 1971, Cat. No 96
Literature
Himmelheber, Hans, Negerkunst und Negerkünstler, Würzburg 1960, p. 308 f.
Leuzinger, Elsy, Die Kunst von Schwarz-Afrika, Recklinghausen 1972, p. 264 f.
Hahner-Herzog, Iris, Das Zweite Gesicht, Afrikanische Masken aus der Sammlung Barbier-Mueller, Genf, München, New York 1997, ill. 75
Sold.
200 Mask "ngongo munene"
This object is not available any more.
D. R. Congo/ Angola, Dinga
hammer-wrought copper sheet, slit eyes and mouth, punched rosette on the forehead, slight traces of corrosion, old-age patina; the masks called "ngongo munene", "chief of the earth", are used during the funerals of chiefs, the enthronement of a new chief and during the initiation of boys at the bush camps called "mukanda". They are also manifestations of the agrarian village community "ekuluwanda", designed for use in social and economical issues. Because woman and children are not allowed to see the "ngongo munene" masks, they are kept by officials called "kfufutshi", wrapped up in fabric and kept in a calabash stored in a small grass hut ("kaseke ya shifulumiko"), which was placed in a crotch.
H: 28 cm
H: 11 inch
Provenance
Michel Egloff, Neuchâtel, Switzerland (1997)
Eduard Hess, Basel, Switzerland
Literature
Roy, Christopher D., Kilengi, Afrikanische Kunst aus der Sammlung Bareiss, München 1997, S. 213
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture, München 2009, p. 180
Herreman, Frank, Petridis, Constantijn (ed.), Face of the Spirits, Tervuren 1993, p. 97
Sold.
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