Catalog (359)

A rare piece of early Maroon culture. Surinamese Maroons (Marrons or Businenge, meaning black people of the forest) are the descendants of enslaved Africans that escaped from the plantations and settled in the inland of Suriname (Dutch Guiana) and French Guiana. The Surinamese Maroon culture is one of the best-preserved pieces of cultural heritage outside of Africa. Dimensions: H. 32 cm, W. 42 cm, D 21 cm. Ex Arjan Hollestelle, The Netherlands.

Very rare and fine bronze figure of a woman holding her breasts. H. 14,5 cm. Ex coll. Ursula Voorhuis (1932-2021), The Netherlands.

Depicting two figures that are tied to one other. H. 22 cm. Ca. mid 20th century. Custom made stand included.

Very large doll made by a known carver. H. 40,5 cm. Second quarter of the 20th century. Condition: both arms reattached. Lovely honey brown patina. The style of this Akuaba with its unusual coiffure is described in the book ‘Akua’ba Asante Wednesday Child’ by Ron van Doorn and Herbert M. Cole. Provenance: Robert van der Heijden, Amsterdam. (Vetter at Parcours des Mondes, Paris).

Zoömorphic stool. The top carved with 2 figures and a pair of fish. The stool has four legs and an animal head. Dimensions: 41 x 20 x 12 cm. Mid 20th century. Ex private collection Italy.

Hardwood, first half 20th century. H. 18 cm. Old insect damage. Ex private collection Belgium, collected in Abidjan in 1968.

H. 9 cm. Mid 20th century or a bit older. For a similar spoon see the screenshot of the Van Rijn Archive.

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.

Depicting a female spouse figure ‘Blolo Bla’. H. 13 cm. first half of the 20th century. Great age wear and patina. Ex coll. Maine Durieu, Paris. The Baule believe a person is married to both an earthly and a spirit spouse. This sculpture honored its owner’s spirit partner to bring peace, luck, and money. Scarifications on her face and body individualized and enhanced her idealized beauty. The figure stood in the owner’s bedroom where, once a week, he slept alone so they could be together in the dream world. It is rare to find these figures in miniature.

Wood covered with sheat metal. H. 30 cm. Mid 20th century. One horn repaired. special price: from € 750 for  € 300

Anthropomorpic female figure. Probably used as a headdress. H. 48 cm. Mid 20th century. Provenance: Kathy van der Pas en Steven van de Raadt, 1998, Otto Schaap, Amsterdam, De Zwaan, Amsterdam, 2020.

Caryatid stool with a sitting female figure. Hardwood, h. 26 cm, diameter 23 cm. First half of the 20th century. minor repair to one leg. The earrings have been replaced. Provenance: Donald Taitt, Paris, Aponem Auction, 2019, J.M. Desaive, Herve, Belgium

A late 19th to early 20th century Montol figure with a great provenance. This hardwood female figure stands 35,5 cm tall. A very strong figure with possible influence from the Goemai, Chamba or Mumuye. Provenance: Collected in 1967-68 by Daniel Mato, former curator at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Professor Emeritus at the University of Calgary, department of art history. Amyas Naegele, New York, ca. 2002. Robert Beckman, Henderson, Nevada. Srdjan Sremac, The Hague. Exhibited twice in Canada at the University of Manitoba and the University of Calgary. This figure comes with a letter from Mato to Beckman dated Nov. 9, 2002, explaining about the history and identification of the piece.

Benue Plateau, mid 20th century. H. 40 cm. Ex Robert van der Heijden, Amsterdam. Ex Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, March 2014. The Djompre are a small ethnic group with their homeland in the Benue Plateau State in northern Nigeria. They call themselves Kutep or Kutev, the denomination Djombre - which means cannibals - has probably been given to them by the neighbouring Chamba.

Wooden spoon or scoop mounted with a brass bird, fish pendants and brass bands. The eyes and wings of the bird inlaid with stone and shell. H. 27 cm. Chimú culture (1100-1450). Ex Dutch private collection.

Bronze bell decorated with circular ornaments. Excavated piece with a stunning verdegris and lapis lazuli patina. Dongson, 500 BC - 500 AD. H. 19 cm. Condition: intact with the original clapper. Collection number on the inside. Ex Dutch private collection. Ex De Zwaan, Amsterdam.

Anthropomorphic heddle pulley. Mid 20th century. H. 25 cm. The ears and nose with cotton ornaments.

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.

Male and female figure, wood, textile and glass. H. 32,5 and 36 cm. Mid 20th century. Provenance: Madeleine and Jean-Jacques Keller (until 1980 Abidjan, afterrwards Rheinfelden, Switzerland).

Made of brass and iron. H. 26 cm. Provenance: W. Häusler, Thurgau, Switzerland, collected in Nigeria in the 1960’s, Hammer Auktionrn, Basel, Switzerland.

The lid with a fine decoration of floral patterns. The silver makes a great contrast with the dark patina of the copper. L. 7,5 cm, H. 6 cm. Very good condition.

Rare Colon figure with blue pigments and great patina. H. 57,5 cm. Ca. Mid 20th century. Provenance: private collection The Netherlands. More pictures a available on request. Visit us at the Tribal Art Fair Amsterdam. www.tribalartfair.nl .

Every dish with a different decoration. Diameter 13 cm. All in good condition with normal age wear. From Shanxi province. All dishes with cyclical date 1843.

Lacquer and wickerwork, the inside of the lid serves as a presentation bowl for sweets. Decorated with Buddhist symbols. H. 16 cm, diameter 15 cm. Cyclical date 1857. Good condition with normal age wear.

Xian province, rare dated baket in lacquer a d wickerwork. Finely decorated with Buddhist symbols. H. 13 cm, diameter 12 cm. Bares the cyclical date 1828. Minor chips and age wear.

A rare tomb gift from the Song Dynasty, made of red pottery, covered with green, brown and yellow glaze. The crawling position probably shows that this lady is worshipping the deceased person. Length 17 cm, height 12 cm. Condition: the hands restored, glaze loss. Please refer to the pictures.

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.

Rare and early mask, ca. 1st quarter of the 20th century. H. 43 cm. Ex coll. Patrick Lemaire, Brussels. Ex private collection Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.

Hardwood group depicting a horse rider surrounded by a kneeling figure and two drum players. H. 19 cm. First half of the 20th century. Some missing parts on the kneeling figure. Ex coll. Ursula Heijs Voorhuis (1932-2021), The Netherlands. Ex Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, Germany.

H. 85 cm.  Mid 20th century. Artist: Tage from Kpwazang (?) Provenance: Norfolk State Museum Marc Assayag, Montreal, Canada Srdjan Sremac, The Hague Auction: Dorotheum Vienna, ‘Tribal Art’, March 2022.

A very rare group from Ketu, Benin, probably used as a divination tray or as a display piece for an important Babalawo. Diameter 52 cm, H. 30 cm. Mid 20th century. The hand of one figure has been replaced. Ex coll. Ursula Voorhuis (1932-2021), The Netherlands Ex Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg Guy van Rijn archive: ao-0102485-005 with comments from Ursula Voorhuis and Hans Witte. The scene depicts the consultation of the Ifa oracle by a woman. The Babalawo (father of the secret) or oracle priest in charge sits to the right of the woman. He has taken 16 palm nuts from the ‘Agere Ifa’ (cup for palm nuts), that stands beside him and is about throw the nuts from his left to his right hand. If he drops one nut in the process, he will make two marks in the wood dust on the oracle tray before him, if he misses two nuts, he will make one mark. After two sets of four throws, the result on the tray will indicate to him the oracle verses he will have to recite to his client. The third person that seems to supervise the proceedings is also a Babalawo and even an important one, judging from the thick beaded necklace that hangs over his chest, with an attachment from his neck. It seems that his right hand held a staff, probably an Ifa tapper that is used to tick on the tray in order to attract the attention of Eshu, the messenger.

Colorful altar from the Ketu region in Benin. Carved all around with a maternity figure and 3 other figures. At the back there is an opening with a tin frame. Probably this part was originally covered by a small door. H. 40 cm, D 30 cm. Mid 20th century or older. Ex coll. Ursula Voorhuis (1932-2021), The Netherlands. Guy van Rijn archive: ao-0104491-001. Hans Witte commented about this object: this form is typical for the Oshumare shrines from Ketu. The colors red-white-yellow point to the cultus complex of Nana Buruku.

A serene mask from the first half of the 20th century. H. 23 cm, L. 26 cm. Light traces of pigment. Ex coll. Ursula Voorhuis (1932-2021), The Netherlands. Guy van Rijn archive: ao-0110538-001.

Alusi shrine figure. H. 59 cm. First half of the 20th century. Ex Jacques Kerchache (1942 - 2001), ex Christie’s Paris, 29-10-2008, ex galerie Walu Basel, ex Hammer Auktionen. Guy van Rijn archive ao-0093787-001.

Ashanti doll, 2nd quarter of the 20th century, by a known carver. See Ron van Doorn - Herbert M. Cole : Akua’Ba Asante Wednesday Child, page 154-155. H. 24,5 cm. Provenance: private collection UK.

Stunning Yoruba stool from the collection of Ursula Voorhuis (1932-2021), The Netherlands. Supported by 6 figures: a family with a nursing mother, a man with a goat, a maternity and a man with a walking stick. H. 30 cm, diameter 33 cm. First half of the 20th century. Condition: age cracks, repair to the goat, some missing parts. Overall in good condition with a lovely patina and remains of Reckitt Blue pigments.