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LOT 2334
West African Bronze Figure of a Musician
19TH-20TH CENTURY A.D.
3 5/8 in. (89 grams, 93 mm).
Figure of a musician playing a type of xylophone with a beater in each hand. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom an old Oxford, UK, collection.
From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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African Bronze Fertility Figure Pair
Yoruba Tribe, early-mid 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Comprising male and female standing figures, each with hands resting on extended abdomen; drum-shaped base. 2.23 kg total, 17-17.1 cm each
From Nigeria, West Africa. Acquired during 1950s. From an old Surrey, UK, oriental and ethnographical collection. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman. -
Brass Kano Pendant
Lobi Tribe, mid 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7
Deltoid in plan and with slight midrib, shank with knop finial for attachment. 21 grams, 98 mm
From Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa. From an old Derby, UK, specialist collection. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
Lobi arts also include a wide variety of small human and animal images, implements, and more abstract symbols in copper alloy and iron. Some of these are worn as jewelry and some appear on shrines. -
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.
