Loading, please wait...
LOT 2395
African Wooden Fertility Figure
LOBI TRIBE, 20TH CENTURY A.D.
14 1/8 in. (425 grams, 35.8 cm).
Carved in a standing pose with a bald head, legs slightly bent, hands resting on the abdomen and an elongated neck supporting a face with bulging eyes. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom Burkina Faso, West Africa.
From a Glasgow ethnographical collection; formed 1940s-1950s.
From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
TimeLine 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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
-
African Ashanti Bronze Snake Gold Weight
Akan Tribe, 19th-20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
D-shaped in section with impressed segmentation to the back, raised head. 144 grams, 25 cm
From an old Oxford, UK, collection. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman. -
African Wooden Ceremonial 'Maiden Spirit' Mask
Punu Tribe, early-mid 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
A wooden mask with traces of white facial pigment and a raffia collar. 851 grams, 36.5 cm
From Gabon, West Africa. From an old Norwich, UK, collection. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
Punu masks represent idealised female ancestors' faces. The white colour of the mask is genderless and a symbol for peace, deities, spirits of the dead, and the afterlife. It is the predominating colour in funeral celebrations and memorials. The masks were worn during funerals. They appeared also in the magical rites whose function was to unmask sorcerers. The masks have realistic, mostly white but sometimes black faces with protruding pursed lips, globular protruding eyes incised with a curve, high-domed foreheads, and characteristic rigid high coiffures reflecting the Punu women's hair styles. The masks often have an oriental expression, but no such influence has been established. Many Punu masks can be recognized by raised diamond-shape scarification marks on the foreheads and temples. -
African Wooden Ceremonial Face Mask
Chokwe Tribe, 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
A carved face mask, decorated with lengths of fibre representing hair, with small nose, carved teeth and scarification. 285 grams, face long: 20 cm
From Western Ivory Coast, West Africa. From the late Brian Morley collection, 1950s. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
