Early 20th Century Tribal Senufo Heddle Pulley, Cote d'Ivoire

A large and graphically stunning asafo flag. Fante flags represent the merger of two cultural traditions, the Akan tradition of combining proverbs with ...

This magnificent gold bracelet was made for Ashanti royalty. The Ashanti Kingdom's wealth was significantly based on gold-mining and trading in gold, as well as agriculture. The ki...

The Shi peoples are agriculturalists living on the shores of Lake Kivu in D.R. Congo. Artistically they are best known for their distinctively carved cups and pitchers...

A rare figurative harp from made by the Vuvi or Tsogo people of Gabon. It is an instrument traditionally played by young men and boys. These rare instruments are well known for their...

Siberian Eskimo people were introduced to tobacco in the 17th century, acquiring it from European traders in exchange for furs. Pipes based on European models, such as this example, ...

A genuine wooden spoon from the Kulango people Cote d'Ivoire, from the early 20th century These spoons are also get used as a pestle These spoons are also said to originate with the ...

Senufo helmet mask of the kponyugu type / Early 20th century Tribe : Senufo / Senoufo Country : Ivory Coast / Côte d'Ivoire Type mask : wanyugu / kponyugu / wabele Length mask : ...

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 ...

A Guere wood mask with paint and fiber remnant from We people displayed on a metal stand. The We people (also known as the Krahn or Guere) are an indigenous African people that inhabit areas in nowadays eastern Liberia and western Côte d'Ivoire. Their material culture shares many aspects with the neighboring Dan tribe. Like the Dans, the We use a wide variety of masquerades, which hold important regulatory position within their small, egalitarian communities. Masks are owned by families and used by individual lineage members in contexts of social control, ritual ceremony and entertainment. This type of Guere mask, however, has a distinct fearsome character. The ferocious design with jagged facial expression, bulging tubular eyes are intended for use in mediations between community members, as visual aids during moral lessons, as well as forms of entertainment. By portraying the more frightening nature of the animal, the mask is viewed as powerful and may have been used as part of social control methods prior to the introduction of Western law systems during the colonial period. The mask on offer, based on our examination, appears to be an original one that was used natively instead of reproduction made for the tourist market. The surface presents apparently genuine patina consistent with use. The red paint that highlights the eyes and gapping mouth also appear original. There are small losses flanking the nose ridge by the eyes, extensive surface accretion, remain of some fiber tassels. The back of the mask reveals chisel marks from hand tools and importantly, stain marks that were likely from repetitive contacts from the nose of the wearer. The mask is 9" in height, and it retains an old Sotheby’s catalog...