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LOT 2341
African Brass Kano Bracelet Pair
OKOMBO TRIBE, LATE 19TH-EARLY 20TH CENTURY A.D.
2 1/2 in. (92 grams total, 63 mm each).
Penannular in form with plain white brass body and cone-shaped finials. [2, No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom Nigeria, West Africa.
From an old Derby, UK, specialist collection.
From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
The bracelet is the most common money form in Africa. It served the important monetary functions of portability and wealth display. Variants of this form were accepted virtually everywhere in Africa.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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African Wooden Ceremonial Face Mask
Lega Warega Tribe, early 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Hollow to the rear with protruding bosses for the eyes, applied fabric to lower edge. 181 grams, 22.1 cm
From Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central Africa. From the Estate of Dr J Bynon; acquired 30 July 1911. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
Most Lega masks are sculptures of a human face that are rarely worn over the face and never for purposes of true transformation. The Lega masks can be assigned different uses and meanings depending on the context of the performance. In Bwami ceremonies, masks are attached to different parts of the body, fixed to hat, piled in stacks, hung on fences, held in the hand, dragged on the ground, and occasionally worn on the forehead with the beard draping over the face of the wearer or arranged on a miniature palisade. Participants in most rites display their masks as a group in conjunction with particular dance movements and aphorisms, which vary depending on the context in which they are used. Lega masks differ from those used in many other African masquerades in that while women do not own them, both men and women handle and present them in very similar performances. Masks are among the initiation objects displayed on the grave before being passed to new owners. They are usually passed from an uncle to a nephew. -
Central African Clay Smoking Pipe
Tikar Tribe, late 19th-early 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7
With decoration to the top of the bowl and an embedded wooden stem with leather binding, secured by twine; repair to the stem. 152 grams, 23.6 cm
From Cameroon, Central Africa. From an old Dorset, UK, specialist collection. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
From the Cameroon -
African Wooden Ancestor Figure
Yoruba Tribe, 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
A hand-carved standing female figure with hands placed by the side and scarification to the face, breasts and stomach. 600 grams, 44.5 cm
From Southwest Nigeria, West Africa. From an old Bristol, UK, ethnographical collection. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
Human figures are represented in a fundamentally naturalistic way, except for bulging eyes; flat, protruding, and usually parallel lips; and stylised ears. Within the basic canon of Yoruba sculpture, many local styles can be distinguished, down to the hand of the individual artist.
