From our African Collection: Igbo Figure from Nigeria 12" across, 20" h. Funerary Prince's Mask, purchased from Eastern Nigerian Ebo Family Ancestral Collection. The Igbo people are a meta-ethnicity native to the present-day south-central and southeastern Nigeria and also Equatorial Guinea.There has been much speculation about the origins of the Igbo people, as it is unknown how exactly the group came to form.Geographically, the Igbo homeland is divided into two unequal sections by the Niger...

Well carved helmet mask of the Bamileke People, Grassland of Cameroon around 1950, former collection of Dr. Heinz Werner Schmitt, Munich/Germany.

Size: 42 cm height. Good condition with great patina and some scrapes and scratches. Great.

The Bamileke are among the artistic elite of the Cameroon Grasslands area. They are ruled by kings, and many of their masks are for royal festivities. Masks like this one belonged to the regulatory society, (Kwifoyn)...

Long mask of the "Kiwoyo Muyombo" type, with typical face and long "beard" underneath covered with bicolored lozenge relief design in a bamboo slice framing . Wood, remnants of pigments, fine glossy patina. Africa, Gabon, Pende Peoples. Height: 18" (45 cm). Chips on some areas, otherwise very good condition.

A weaving pulley ending in an expressive head with some scarifying. Carved from hardwood with dark patina, the reel is fixed with an iron wire. Collected by the Swiss ethnologist Charlotte von Graffenried, author of the book "Akan Goldweights". Condition: traces of usage, some wear, the face with fine cracks. Dimension: c. 19.1 cm high x 6.8 cm wide.

Standing female figurine, with typical coiffe and elongated head, scarifications on face and torso, arms alongside and separated from torso, small breasts, straight legs and big stylized feet. Wood, fine dark-brown semi-glossy patina. Africa, D.R. Congo, Mangbetu Peoples. Height: 11 7/8" (30 cm). The statue is nicely mounted on a custom metal stand. Old accident on left shoulder (local restoration), erosion, otherwise good condition.

Mongo drum, DRC, 1st half of the 20th century. H. 73 cm. Dry patina. Provenance: Robert van der Heijden, Amsterdam, Piet van Boxel (1938-2021),The Hague, collector of ethnic musical instruments.

Finely carved dance crest representing a female bust with an elaborate coiffe. Wood, with glossy dark-brown patina. Africa, Nigeria, Idoma Peoples. Height: 11 1/8" (28,2 cm). The piece is nicely mounted on a custom bronze stand. Old insect infestation (no danger), otherwise very good condition. Ex. old French collection.

"Gorfa" milk container, made of calabash covered with tightly woven vegetal fibers, with a leather handle partly decorated with cowries. The gorfa is also covered with leather and wood protection, and its foot is decorated with cowries. Ethiopia, Borana Peoples. Height: 21.2 cm. Very good condition. NOTE: The Borana society is build around the maintenance of cattle, which are their prime source of sustenance. Milk and yogurt also are staples of the Borana diet...

Male and female Ibeji from Iseyin City, Oyo State., adorned with a necklace and bracelets made of glass beads and a belt made of cocunut discs. H. 26,5 cm. First half of the 20th century. Provenance: Dutch private collection, Robert van der Heijden, Amsterdam.

From our African Collection: A Nomoli Figure from Sierra Leone made from Stone. 9" across at base, 24" h. Nomoli figurines are among the earliest works of art from Sierra Leone. The Nomoli figurines and similar stone sculptures are the only known remains of an empire that existed hundreds of years ago in what is Sierra Leone and Liberia today. Nomoli figurines are often associated with the Mende people as they are often buried on Mende land...

Anthropomorphic mask depicting a female. Hardwood with metal earrings. H. 24 cm. First half of the 20th century. A very fine mask with nice scarifications on the cheeks and forehead. Beautiful signs of age and a lovely patina. Ex Roger Bergmans, Belgium. Ex Srdjan Sremac, The Hague. Comes with a beautiful metal stand by Roger Bergmans.

Helmet mask with three faces, Ekoi, Cross River, Nigeria.  Height 62 cm. Mid 20th century. Partly covered with antelope skin. The headdress and the three figures are attached on (partly new) wooden pins and can easily be removed for transport. There is old rodent damage to the figures. Ex Ursula Voorhuis (1932-2021), The Netherlands. A (heavy) stand can be included. More pictures available on request.

Bamana Sukun mask First half 20th century. Parts of the ears and a kind of horn on the forehead are missing. Traces of polichromy. Rare mask with great age! Ex Swiss private collection. H. 40 cm Stand included.

TORSO WITH PHALLUS

Primitive wood carving torso with phallus (like a body mask, though no displaying hole), originally flown out from a collector of African tribal art in Japan, though its details unknown and just told as it's from somewhere in West Africa, early-mid 20th century. approx. W 28 x H 57.5 x D 15 cm (11.02 x 22.63 x 5.90in). Not stand on its own...

Female figurine, with typical flaring coiffe, hands posture, scarifications all over the body and truncated legs. Wood,eroded with age, with remnants of polychrome pigments. Africa, R.D. Congo, Kuba Peoples, Dengese sub-group. Height: 37 cm. Old restoratins, otherwise good condition.

Helmet mask of Janus shape, showing two busts surmounted by fierce looking faces, each one very different from the other one. The mask is made of wood covered with animal skin, with a rattan base allowing fixation to the top of the dancer's head. Beautiful dark brown glossy patina. Africa, Nigeria, Ekoi ethnic group. Height: 21 cm. Very good condition. Provenance: old European collection.

From our African Collection: Large scale tall figure with scarification, Dogon and Songe, Tanzania. Square Base with support 24 x 24", 72" h.

Anthropomorphic dance figure. Wood and pigments. It has moving arms that are tied to the head. Ca. Mid 20th century or earlier. H. 73 cm. The Eket are a sub group of the Ibibio. Their material is quite rare. Provenance: Robert van der Heijden, Amsterdam, Srdjan Sremac, The Hague.