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LOT 2140
New Guinea Woven Cowrie Marriage Headdress
19TH-20TH CENTURY A.D.
32 1/2 in. (2 kg total, 82 cm including stand).
A long open ambuusap of closely woven fibre cords with small cowrie shells sewn to the outer surfaces in lines, terminating at the base in a crocodile head; typical of work from the Siakulen Blackwater Lakes region in Sepik Province; with a custom-made display stand. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1970s-1990s.
Ex property of an American gentleman.
Cf. Biebuyck D and Van den Abbeele, N., The Power of Headdresses, Brussels, 1984, p.228, pl.182, for similar and discussion.
FootnotesThese elaborate headdresses were worn by women on ceremonial occasions, such as marriage.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 2140
New Guinea Woven Cowrie Marriage Headdress
Sold for (Inc. bp): £364
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Senufo Wooden Male Figure
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
Depicted squatting and displaying scarification marks around the chest, median crested coiffure with hands resting on the knees. 1.9 kg, 69 cm high
From Côte d'Ivoire/Ghana. From an old Newbury, UK, ethnographic collection.
The Senufo peoples are distributed in West Africa in the area of Cote d'Ivoire and Mali. They are famed for their woodcarving skills as well as their musical abilities. -
African Terracotta Bead Group
12th century A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £20
Restrung; composed of cream, beige and umber-coloured ribbed terracotta beads with some cylindrical beads. 61 grams total, 68-73 cm long
UK gallery, early 2000s.
There are in Africa two main different beads used for the nacklaces: the mangour and the rougad-el-fagah. The first is a round glass bead exported from Galilee, green, or yellow, or black and speckled. The rougad-el-fagah is larger, smoother and more beautiful. The mangour is about the size of an ordinary nut and the rougad-el-fagah of a larger nut. Both are of terracotta covered with a glaze like that of faience. But the rougad-el-fagah is of more perfect work, better glazed and looks most agreeable and expensive. The mangour is rough, crinkled on the surface and grossly glazed. It is also sold cheap. -
A Historic Collection of Fifty-Six Original Slides of East Africa
Circa 1897 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £390
Collection of glass photographic slides recording railway construction in East Africa, river transport, customary dress and other topics; in a wooden box with hinged lid and numbered inner racking, initials 'DWC' to some slides. 3.01 kg total, 39.5 x 10.5 x 10.5 cm
From the private collection of Dudley Collings, from his travels in Africa in the late 19th century.
The caption on one slide refers to 'B.E.Africa' (British East Africa), the area now known as Rwanda / Burundi.
