Tanzanian Folk Art

This early twentieth-century African Madonna figurative sculpture from the Makonde culture in southern Tanzania, close to the border of Mozambique, exhibits a wonderful sense of move...

Prestige open top basket Sukuma People (?) Tanzania Circa 1900 Coiled and woven basketry, natural fibers and dye 8 x 6 1/2 inches (21 x 16.5 cm) Provenance: ex private collection U...

This beautifully carved title stool, from the Gogo culture in Tanzania, features a wonderful looped and adjoining structure. Dating back to the mid-twentieth century, this fine examp...

Makonde helmet mask , Tanzania, Africa, early 20th century. Woman's face with a lip plug. The young woman represented wears earrings. Her hairstyle shows three large braids which are sculpted by hand. Carved wood. Width : 11.4"(29cm), Depth : 12.8"(32.5cm), Height: 8.3" (21cm). A shock made during the ceremonies above the right ear caused a crack. Remains of black patina. See photos. The mask is in good age and used condition. Early 20th century. Delivered without seat. Makonda tribes live in southern Tanzania and northern Mozambique. The most famous Makonde masks are helmet masks, called Lipico, which are used to mark a boy's initiation into adulthood. They also used masks with female faces such as this one. Brought from Africa to France in the 1920s, this helmet mask shows traces of use. It has been worn which places it at the beginning of the 20th century at least. The pigments darkening the skin (not the hairstyle) have faded or gone. Some small gaps on some protruding parts. A shock to the top of the skull, apparently due to a pointed weapon, generated star-shaped cracks. This impact is not running...

Stunning African Art Sculpture of a Tribal Woman by the Makonde Tribe of Tanzania. A fine figurative sculpture is made of ebony. This decorative piece of African art is truly eye-ca...

This mid-twentieth century African Madonna comes from the Makonde culture, in the Matwara region of southern Tanzania. The Madonna figure exhibits a graceful, serene facial express...

The form of this finely carved early twentieth-century village stool, from the Hehe culture in Tanzania, consists of four short, upright legs supporting a dish-shaped seat. A small d...

This mid-twentieth century figurative sculpture, which comes from the Kwere culture in Tanzania, depicts a female standing in an upright stance, with her hands placed by her sides. ...

This beautiful mid-twentieth century figurative sculpture depicts a mother, crowned with a sweeping double-parted coiffure, holding her child at her side. Multiple strands of glass b...

This finely carved mid-twentieth century figurative sculpture, from the Pare culture in Tanzania, depicts a female with large, prominent ears. Standing in a proud, upright stance, sh...

This is a very good example of a 19th century Zanzibar storage chest. The chest was created in the mid-19th century. The teak case is adorned with cut and open work brass strapping i...

Powerful Scarified Makonde portrait helmet mask from Tanzania. Early 20th century with heavy dark patina from traditional tribal use, wear inside from being used. Finely carved featu...

Striking Makonde animal helmet mask, dog or hyena, Tanzania. Early 20th century with dark patina from traditional tribal use, wear inside from being used. Finely carved features, wit...

A beautiful contemporary collector piece of Makonde ebony tree of life art carving with unbelievable detailed wood carving.

Powerful portrait of a Makonde man with a traditional lip plug in his upper lip, high carved cheek bones in the form of a finely carved helmet mask, with attached hair on top from Ta...

A hand-carved wooden stool from Tanzania with a native repair made from hand-hammered brass. This piece is very cool with a tribal vibe.