Tribal Art

Yoruba people have one of the highest incidents of twin births in the world. As a result, twin children are regarded as extraordinary, divine beings protected by Sango, the deity of ...

This Dayak Tribal Baby Carrier from Kalimantan, Borneo, is a stunning example of traditional indigenous craftsmanship. Made from a combination of beads, rattan, and wood, this carrie...

Yoruba people have one of the highest incidents of twin births in the world. As a result, twin children are regarded as extraordinary, divine beings protected by Sango, the deity of ...

A Nomoli is a carved stone figurine native to Sierra Leone and Liberia. They are usually made of soapstone, limestone, or granite. The carving depicts a man holding his belly with a...

A Nomoli is a carved stone figurine native to Sierra Leone and Liberia. They are usually made of soapstone, limestone, or granite. The carving depicts a woman in a dress and choker,...

A beautiful bronze vessel, lidded ovoid pot on a circular support, made by the Asante People, Ghana. Nicely cast lid with 7 figures in the form of animals and reptiles are depicted o...

Yoruba people have one of the highest incidents of twin births in the world. As a result, twin children are regarded as extraordinary, divine beings protected by Sango, the deity of ...

Akan Ashanti cast bronze figurine. The Ashanti or Asante People from Ghana have a rich tradition of crafting bronze pieces to commemorate important figures from their culture or peop...

A cast bronze group presenting a tribal chief (king) with his servants. A musician with a drum, a person with a palm leaf, another one holding an umbrella to give shade and two guard...

Akan Ashanti cast bronze figurine. The Ashanti or Asante People from Ghana have a rich tradition of crafting bronze pieces to commemorate important figures from their culture or peop...

19th-century bronze currency bangle / Manilla with a fixed opening. Minimalist, simple design work with engraved geometrical circles and lines. This type of bracelet was used and wor...

A beautiful bronze vessel, lidded pot on three legs, made by the Asante People, Ghana. Nicely cast lid with 4 reptiles and a bird. Several faces are depicted on the side of the vesse...

Yoruba people have one of the highest incidents of twin births in the world. As a result, twin children are regarded as extraordinary, divine beings protected by Sango, the deity of ...

Yoruba people have one of the highest incidents of twin births in the world. As a result, twin children are regarded as extraordinary, divine beings protected by Sango, the deity of ...

Forged bronze headdress or kind of crown/tiara "God of Thunder" which was used for protection. The size is slightly changeable, as the headdress bronze band is open on one side. Yoru...

Manillas are horse-shoe shaped, made of an open circle of bronze, brass, or copper with enlarged finial terminations. They were used as a currency in West African countries from the ...

Yoruba people have one of the highest incidents of twin births in the world. As a result, twin children are regarded as extraordinary, divine beings protected by Sango, the deity of ...

Yoruba people have one of the highest incidents of twin births in the world. As a result, twin children are regarded as extraordinary, divine beings protected by Sango, the deity of ...

19th-century bronze currency bracelet / Manilla in horseshoe form with fixed opening. Intricate graphical swirled rope work design and tips are shaped with large flat ends with geome...

Guro mask 'kyasa' Ivory Coast Wood, paint, metal, hide 38cm Provenance: Peter Peretti (1945-2022) London, United Kingdom Acquired in Paris in the mid 1960s

Intriguing cast bronze relief plaque from Benin, showing three guardians. The plaque was modeled after ancient Benin bronzes but was made in the 20th century. The plaque is cast in b...

19th-century bronze currency bracelet / Manilla in horseshoe form with fixed opening. Intricate graphical design with lines and accent points on the top and at both tips. This type o...

Large carved wooden spoon in the shape of a standing female figure, with a round bowl over her head, Yoruba People, circa 1960s. The numbers are the inventory numbers from Penn Stat...

19th-century bronze currency bracelet / Manilla in horseshoe form with fixed opening. Intricate graphical design with a lattice pattern. This type of bracelet was worn or used by the...

Statues of Juju Man or shamans were used for ceremonies connected with religious beliefs and magical practices. The general understanding of their meaning as including a supernatural...

19th-century bronze currency bracelet / Manilla in horseshoe form with fixed opening. Intricate graphical swirl design and tips are shaped with large flat ends with cross pattern des...

A hand-carved wooden "Nupe stool", made by the Nupe People, a tribe who lives by the Niger River in Nigeria. This kind of 8-legged stool was used during important meetings or market...

19th-century bronze currency bracelet / Manilla in horseshoe form with fixed opening. Intricate graphical swirl design and tips are shaped with large flat ends with 5 beads on each s...

Early to mid-19th-century bronze currency bracelet / Manilla in circle form. Intricate graphical geometrical. This type of bracelet was worn/used by the Zaghawa People also called Bé...

Early to mid-19th-century bronze currency bracelet / Manilla in circle form. Intricate graphical geometrical. This type of bracelet was worn/used by the Zaghawa People also called Bé...

Tall hand-carved wooden statue of a Ju Ju Man crafted by the Egba People in Abeokuta, Ogun State (part of Nigeria), circa 1940s. The pupils are made from nails, which intensifies the...

Tall hand-carved wooden oracle or divination tapper "Iroke Ifa" statue, showing a kneeling woman holding her breasts. Yoruba, Nigeria, circa 1930s. Yoruba belief specifies that each ...

A tall hand-carved statue of a dancer "Queen Dancer" crafted by the Egba People, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, circa 1950s. The statue is hand-carved in a rather rough way, not very...

Carved wood Akuaba, sometimes known as an Ashanti doll or a Fanti doll. Untouched condition with a beautiful natural age-related patina. Akua'ba (sometim...

Museum quality Southern Arapaho (Hinono’ei) Native American Plains Indian leggings circa 1880s. Constructed of dyed native tanned hide with viridian green dye and ochre yellow embel...

A fine Zulu head rest neck rest South Africa Raised on central pillars with geometric lozenge shaped carving all over. Measures: 22 x 14 x 5 cm approx. Period Early 20th century Ex U...

Bronze Dan (also called Yakuba) bell, Cote d'Ivoire, circa 1960s. This Dan bell is made from the lost-wax process. It has a looped handle and stylized designs on the bell and around ...

Ancient nomadic belts, covered with embroidery and ancient coins. Purchased by a young oriental man in a European market. they can also be used as blinds for curtains. nr. 1 - cm. 5...

Nafana "Bedu" mask, from Southern Burkina Faso/Ivory Coast. Wood with natural earth pigments. Note the double faces, one with tubular eyes and mouth for the dancer and the larger a...

A well-loved traditional stool or seat from the Akan people of Ghana. The supports for Akan stools take many forms, they can be purely geometric or architectural with simple posts a...

Wonderful object with arrow shaped blades. Beautiful decorative with complex and fascinating history; Iron currency tokens are among the most compelling and virtuosic of sub-Sahara...

So as not to muss their intricate hairstyles, tribal leaders would rest their heads on these petite wooden stands. The combination of conic base and concave rest gives these function...

Baule colonial figure from Ivory Coast 26.5cm tall ex German collection

Rare mid century Lobi folk tribal art female figure wooden sculpture produced in Burkina Faso, Africa by anonymous designer in the 1940s. In good original condition. Dimensions: H:...

Created in the early to mid-20th century, by an anonymous artist of the Akan people of Ghana, probably Ashanti (Asante) or Fanti (Fante). What separates this stool from the standard ...

Very beautiful and well-preserved vintage terracotta vessel with removable lid from the Congo region, Bakongo ethnic group. The fine decoration is partly engraved, but also modeled ...

Papua New Guinea standing Bioma figure with raised designs, stylized classic face, and additional face in stomach. Mounted on custom metal and wood base. Created mid 20th century...

Ancient Fiji Islands Flat Serving Bowl or Platter 19th century, made of very dense hardwood with deep patina, and expected wear on bottom. Two small opposing holes for suspension. B...

A good example of an African Ashanti tribal headrest. Ghana. Early to mid-twentieth century.

Amazing and scarce JUDAICA object, we have here one of the most touching jewish objects we had for a long time, this small silver dowry box was made in Algeria in the early 19th century, it is all covered with symbols of jewish faith and of couples, the sliding lid has 2 flanking birds with hamsa (protective hand) on each side and a flower vase in the middle. one side shows two flanking lions with a tree in the middle and the other side shows again two big and two small birds with a flower bowl in the middle, front side has a key hole and next to it there is the Hebrew inscription ס״ט״" which says Siman tov or in English "a good sign" it is taken from the wedding blessing, underneath the lock there is another inscription with the name ״עזיזה בת אברהם בן חמו״ which is the name of the bride, her father and her grandfathers name. the box is full marked a lot of times with the silversmith mark, every side of the box is marked. this box was probably ordered by the grooms family to hold the jewelry they are giving to the bride as dowry, this type of objects are rare and there are just a few of them on museum collections. DOWRY (Heb. נְדֻנְיָה), the property a wife brings to her husband at marriage; the Yiddish equivalent, nadn, is from the same root. The custom of nedunyah became clearly defined and institutionalized only in the talmudic period. In biblical times, mohar (מֹהַר), whereby the groom bought his wife from her father (Gen. 24:53; Ex. 22:15–16; Hos. 3:2), was the accepted practice. It was then customary that the groom give the bride gifts, and that she bring certain property to her husband's home upon marriage: slaves, cattle, real estate, etc. (cf. Gen. 24:59–61; 29; Judg. 1:14ff.; I Kings 9:16). Evidence of the custom of nedunyah is to be found in Tobit (7:14; 8:21) and in the Assuan papyri (Cowley, Aramaic, nos. 15, 18). Gradually, mohar was superseded by the ketubbah custom according to which the husband merely assumed the responsibility of compensation to his wife in case he divorced her: he had to pay her 200 zuzim if she had been a virgin at the time of marriage, and 100 zuzim if a widow or divorcée (see *Ketubbah). By talmudic times, the institution of nedunyah was prevalent; the father gave a dowry to the bride since the daughter was excluded from paternal inheritance. Fifty zuzim (equivalent to the worth of 180 grams of silver) was the minimum amount a father was obliged to give to his daughter (Ket. 6:5). Parents usually gave much more, according to their social standing. Community funds provided the dowry for an orphan or a very poor girl (ibid.; cf. Sh. Ar., YD 251:8). In case of her father's death, the brothers of a minor girl were obliged to give her the minimum dowry, and the court estimated how much her father would have given her above the minimum dowry. The sum was then taken out of the father's estate and given to the daughter upon majority (Ket. 6:6; 68a–69b). In the absence of such an estimate, each daughter was entitled to receive one-tenth of the value of her father's estate in money, or in valuables (Yad, Ishut, 20:4–7; Sh. Ar., EH 113:4). If the father was unable or unwilling to pay the promised dowry at the betrothal ceremony, the groom could refuse to marry his bride (Ket. 13:5; Ket. 108b–109a). Insistence on exact payment of the promised dowry, however, was frowned upon by later rabbinic authorities (Rema to Sh. Ar., EH 2:1). In certain communities it was customary for the groom's father to make a dowry contribution equal to that of the bride's father (Ket. 102b). The dowry, whether given in real estate, slaves, money, or chattel was recorded in the marriage contract (the ketubbah) and in some instances one-third or one-fifth of the actual value of the dowry was added to the sum mentioned in the ketubbah. Based upon a decree enacted by *Simeon b. Shetah (first century C.E.), the Talmud ruled that the husband and his entire property were liable for compensation as stipulated in the ketubbah, either in case he died (when she collected the sum specified in the ketubbah from the heirs) or in case he divorced his wife (Ket. 82b). For the status of the dowry and the husband's rights and obligations, see below. The rabbinic enactments (Takkanot Shum) by R. Jacob *Tam and by the rabbinic synod of the communities of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz (Germany) stipulated that if a woman died...

Sepik Turtle stool Head Rest Oceanic Polynesian Australian A cute small stool or Headrest carved in the form of a turtle from the Sepik region of Papua new Guinea A beautiful objec...

Amazon Indian Basket Yekuana Native Tribe South America Amazonian Tribal Art A fine old Yekuana tribal basket with Feline motives from the Amazonian reg...

Indonesia, Nias, 19th century H. 37.5 x W. 10 cm Sculptures like the one present are not only decorative items but are believed to be vessels that house the spirits of ancestors and are used to communicate with them. After the death of a person a wooden image or Adu Zatua was made to mediate between the human world and the spiritual realm. These kinds of figures were commissioned by noble Nias families, whereas simple and lesser quality carvings generally were found among lower class families. In this particularly fine example, the sculptor has paid careful attention to the proportions of the different parts of the body, dividing it into three main sections – the head, the torso, and the legs. The shapes are sometimes flat, round, or have notches, but all are perfectly in balance creating a certain divine tranquillity. This Adua Zatua’s ears are decorated with earrings, and it is wearing a headdress, pointing towards a chiefly provenance. In 1914 the Dutch gained complete control of the island of Nias and started spreading Protestant Christianity. Many ancestor statues...

Moroccan Berber hand-carved wooden sugar hammer "Deggaga". Handcrafted by the Berber women of Morocco, hand-carved and hand painted wood with tribal desig...

Kazak rugs have primarily been produced as village productions rather than city pieces. Made from materials particular to individual tribal provinces and the rugs of the Caucasus typically display bold geometric designs in primary colours. Kazak rugs are a type of Armenian rug...

Superb Antique Moroccan Koumiya Berber Dagger A rare and superb example of a Moroccan Koumiya Berber Dagger with highly ornate silver and brass work a...

Mid-20th Century Silver Khamsa and Copper Earrings by Jewels of Santa Fe/Marrakesh A pair of earrings made by Jewels with rural Moroccan village pendants with three small khamsas, h...

19th Century Bronze Coin with Silver Bezel Earrings by Jewels of Santa Fe/Marrakesh A pair of earrings made by Jewels with bronze coins from Morocco and Egypt set in silver bezels a...