Very Fine African Tribal Bambara/Bamana Antelope Dance Crest

Carved grotesque wood mask with pierced eyes, very hooked nose, cigar between very crooked bone teeth. Label on verso reads, “Willi Huggler (Swiss, 1925...

A compatible pair of superbly crafted African busts in an extraordinary exotic hardwood. Nzambu East African sculptures, hand carved, solid and heavy depicting the busts of two tribe...

Very important “Nwantamtay” dance African mask, consisting of three sections: The upper in plain rectangular shape surmounted by a crescent shape moon, the middle with beautiful geometric triangles in black bitumen and white kaolin, surrounding a red cruciform in the centre of remarkable contrasting colors, and the lower part or face inscribed in a circular space that inspired numbered great artists like Joan Miro, Picasso and Henry Moore of a very strongly solar symbolism, with a projecting protuberance emanating from the forehead like a sculpted bird beak, that descents toward the mouth. Concentric eyes harmonize with the circular mouth, both with of elegant proportions. The whole mask exudes a supreme harmony and perfect balance rarely seen in this pieces. The back-side presents nice ware that attested the ancient origin and traces of animistic ceremonies as the use of animal blood residues. The painting of brown bitumen or cola, the natural colorants in red and ocher tones and the white kaolin are original and do not show any repainted or restored areas, giving a freshness rarely seen in old pieces. This exceptional mask Bwa, of the Hound`e Region in Burkina-Fasso, was used it the transit ceremonies and funerals manifesting the presence of “Do”, name given to their God sons, protectors and powerful spirits. The round face also represents an owl, the curving beak of the bird plants a seed into the sun, like a female sexual vulva being fecundated by the male organ; the eternal symbol of Ying and Yang, masculine and feminine, and the quest of life and death. This mask of Primitive facture can be compared to the one in the celebrated Verite Collection (this one being larger) sold in Paris at the Hotel Drouot, Saturday June 17, Lot 59, for 80,000 Euros and remarkably stands out from the Pierre and Tannia Matisse sold in Sotheby’s, New York in May 13, 2011. Another similar piece was published in: “Arman et l’art africain...

Fine Tribal Bambara cubist figurative wood door lock, early 20th century Mali, Africa great abstract figure with strong cubist stylized elegant face. The Bambara of Mali use decorated door locks sliding horizontal bar and with a removable key (missing here) to secure the doors to houses or millet granary. This door lock shows a stylized human body with strongly sculpted face and carved notch in back to hold the movable cross bar. The rectangular body is decorated with fine, geometric line...