1980s Tribal Art

Small African pharmacy cabinet made of wood of the Dogon ethnic group. This small cabinet with two movable flaps on three legs was designed to store medicinal preparations made according to the advice of the elders who had been initiated into the science of trees or "Jiridon". The walls are carved with figures of the mythical ancestors Nommos, genii associated with the creation of the world, providing health and fertility and activating healing power. The Dogon are a people famous for their cosmogony, esotericism, myths and legends. Their population is estimated at about 300,000 souls living in the southwest of the Niger Loop in the Mopti region of Mali (Bandiagara, Koro, Banka), near Douentza and in part of northern Burkina (northwest of Ouahigouya). The villages are often located on the tops of scree slopes on the flanks of the hills and have unique architecture. The history of the migration and settlement of the Dogon (about ten main groups, about fifteen different languages), is characterized by several hypotheses. Some historians believe that the Dogon fled after an attack from an area west of their present location. Today, the artisanal blacksmiths of the Dogon, who form an endogamous caste called Irim, make weapons and tools and also work with wood. They are "masters of fire" and are said to heal burns (Huib Blom). Satin brown patina. Ex collection of African art from France.

Stunning Arabic dagger fron Morocco, Silver work and wooden soul with corals and turquoises inlaid, 20th century. In a perfect condition. A unique piece...