Online catalogue for the 69th tribal art auction

301 Mask with hinged jaw "gägon"

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Dan

wood, partly encrusted dark brown patina, metal tags in the forehead area, beard made from animal hair, hinged jaw affixed by metal wire, circular eyes frames by metal sheet, pierced around the rim, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion, on base; according to Hans Himmelheber this mask type surely had educational purposes in former times but is nowadays only used for entertainment of the village people.

H: 27 cm
H: 10.6 inch

Provenance
French Collection

Literature
Fischer, Eberhard, Himmelheber, Hans, Die Kunst der Dan, Zürich 1976, p. 119 ff.

Price: 1500 - 3000 €

302 Standing female figure "lü ma"

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Dan

light brown wood, dark brown patina, metal teeth, scarifications on back, abdomen and neck, min. dam., traces of insect caused damage, on wooden base; wooden figures, called "lü ma", are not thought to represent ritual ancestors or spirits, they are rather portraits of living persons, even carrying the name of the represented human. Typically a portrait of a woman esteemed by her husband - a chief or important figure - who commissioned the work from a sculptor. The husband would take possession of it with some pomp, then hide it away jealously, showing it only on special occasions.

H: 47 cm
H: 18.5 inch

Provenance
Fily Keita, Los Angeles, USA

Literature
Fischer, Eberhard, Himmelheber, Hans, Die Kunst der Dan, Zürich 1976, ill. 172
Johnson, Barbara C., Four Dan Sculptors, San Francisco 1987, p. 79, ill. 22

Price: 6000 - 10000 €

303 Sppon

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Dan

light brown wood, shiny blackish brown patina, rising from a pair of human legs, oval scoop, the back ornamented with incisions, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion, on wooden base; represents "nyonublekela" (goddess of fertility). Its owner is called "wakede" and is responsible for the preparation of food for the circumcision camps.

H: 44,5 cm
H: 17.5 inch

Provenance
Old Belgian Collection

Literature
Homberger, Lorenz (Hg.), Löffel in der Kunst Afrikas, Zürich 1990, p. 32, ill. 13

Price: 8000 - 12000 €

304 Heddle pulley with bird head

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Diomande

wood, rich blackish brown patina, well-balanced forms, the long tapering beak corresponding with the neck lobe, accurate incised linear ornaments, complete with cross-bar and bobbin, acrylic base; heddle pulleys belong to the weavers and were passed on as appreciated heirloom within the family. Because of their private character, the weaver is allowed to define their form on his own. The weaver who uses traditional methods employs so-called heddle pulleys to guide his cotton thread. These pulleys are hung over the loom and guide and hold up the chain thread which in turn holds up the heddle shafts and permits them to move up and down.

H: 21 cm
H: 8.3 inch

Provenance
Sotheby's Paris, 5 December 2007, Lot 37
Lucien van de Velde, Antwerp, Belgium

Exposed in
Brussels, Belgium, "Oerkunsten van zwart Afrika/Arts Premiers d' Afrique Noire", Credit Communal de Belgique, 5 March - 17 April 1977

Published in
Expo.cat.: "Oerkunsten van zwart Afrika/Arts Premiers d' Afrique Noire", by Philippe Guimiot and Lucien van de Velde, Brussels: Credit Communal de Belgique, 1977:57, #28c; Hvatum Werner, "La muse des tisserands; l' étrier de poulie d' Afrique de L'Ouest, in: Tribal Arts, Le Monde de l' ArtTribal, vol.IV, #15, 1997:82, fig.49

Sold.

305 Heddle pulley

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Guro

wood, shiny brown patina, elaborate coiffure with two side lobes and piercing, complete with bobbin (nut) and crossbar, min. dam., crack at the back, slight traces of abrasion, on wooden base

H: 14 cm
H: 5.5 inch

Price: 4500 - 9000 €

306 Heddle pulley with anthropomorphic head

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Guro

wood, shiny, dark brown patina, horseshoe-shaped corpus with round shoulders, long neck, tribe-typical facial features and scarification marks, bobbin and crossbar missing, min. dam., crack at the back, slight traces of abrasion, on metal plate

H: 26,5 cm
H: 10.4 inch

Provenance
Galerie Philipp Konzett, Graz, Austria

Sold.

307 Mask with horns

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Jimini

wood, black patina, sharp-edged triangular face, saucer-shaped ears, brows, nose wings and mouth accentuated by camwood powder, painted scarification marks, slightly dam., minor missing parts at the back of the rim, abrasion; like many ethnic groups who borrow artistic elements from their neighbours and integrate them into their works, with the Jimini a significant mixture of Senufo and Kulango expressions are to be found particularly in the rather rare masks of the Jimini.

H: 47 cm
H: 18.5 inch

Provenance
Adalbert von Alföldy, Eislingen, Germany

Literature
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture, München 2009, p. 309

Sold.

308 Seated female figure

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Senufo

wood, dark brown patina, carved on a stool, tribe-typical ornaments (bracelets), facial features and coiffure, collection number "238-35", min. dam., slight traces of abrasion

H: 24,5 cm
H: 9.6 inch

Provenance
Lore Kegel & Boris Kegel-Konietzko, Hamburg, Germany (1959)

Literature
Burkhard, Gottschalk, Senufo - Unbekannte Schätze aus privaten Sammlungen, Düsseldorf 2009, p. 50

Price: 1100 - 2200 €

309 Standing female figure

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Senufo

wood, shiny dark brown patina, simplified forms, linear scarifications, a flat facial plane with lobes aside, min. dam., cracks, missing parts (foot tips), on wooden base

H: 30 cm
H: 11.8 inch

Provenance
Robert Duperrier, Paris, France

Price: 1500 - 3000 €

310 Standing pair of figures "tugubele"

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Senufo

wood, partly shiny dark brown patina, remains of pigments, a male and a female figure, their bodies nearly identical in shape and posture, min. dam., crack (female figure), slight traces of abrasion, on acrylic base; such small human figures belong to single persons, mainly soothsayers. They are indispensable for getting into contact with the "tugubele", the small invisible and omnipresent bush spirits. The "tugubele" promise to help their human partners, when they are appreciated accordingly, which means that a figure has to be carved, representing them. Just like the bush spirits such figures are called "tugubele".

H: 13 cm resp. 13,5 cm
H: 5.1 inch resp. 5.3 inch

Price: 1800 - 3500 €