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LOT 2387
African Wooden Ceremonial Face Mask
BAULE TRIBE, EARLY-MID 20TH CENTURY A.D.
14 1/4 in. (1.63 kg, 36 cm).
A wooden tribal oval mask with wide open mouth displaying teeth, a large narrow nose, hatched crest. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa.
From a Glasgow ethnographical collection; formed 1940s-1950s.
From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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West African Squatting Stone Figure Pair
Kissi Tribe, early 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7
Carved stone statues (twins) from Sierra Leone; two steatite anthropomorphic carvings, one male and one female, both with hands wrapped around the knees. 2.55 kg total, 20-23.5 cm
From Sierra Lione, West Africa. From an old Norwich, UK, collection. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
The Kissi as early as the 15th century, revered soapstone (steatite) anthropomorphic carvings, which are found in fields and rivers in the area centered around Sewa and Mano rivers. The Kissi people call them Pomdo (Pombo), which mean "the deceased". Some of their carvings are extremely old. These statues were the abodes of the spirits of their ancestors. In order to find out which ancestor a statue represented; a man’s dreams were analyzed with the help of the diviner. At festivities the statue was wrapped in cotton upon which sacrificial blood had been poured. The owner (the guardian of the statue) placed it on the family altar; hence it was thought to be the family’s protector against sickness. It was also consulted before a new undertaking was planned. The statues were believed to have supernatural power and were used in rice cultivation. Remarkably, the descendants of the Kissi people still keep up the tradition of stone carving. -
African Brass Kano Bracelet
Okombo Tribe, late 19th-early 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
Comprising a plain round white brass penannular body with clubbed ends. 92 grams, 75 mm
From Nigeria, West Africa. From an old Derby, UK, specialist collection. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
This is a Kano Bracelet from northern Nigeria. 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. -
African Wooden Fertility Figure
Baule Tribe, early-mid 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
A carved standing figure with an elaborate hairstyle tied back with a band; scarification to the face. 904 grams, 35 cm
From Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa. From a Glasgow ethnographical collection; formed 1940s-1950s. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
Baule statues are usually standing on a base with legs slightly bent, with their hands resting on their abdomen in a gesture of peace, and their elongated necks supporting a face with typically raised scarification and bulging eyes.
