Oba warrior figure originating from Benin. The male character wears ornaments around the waist and neck. He also wears a hairstyle, showing his high rank in the benign society, we find in fact the frontal excrescence of the royal headdresses. The art of Benin, an art of court, it is closely associated with the king, known as Oba and exclusively for the use of the inhabitants of the royal palace and, most often, placed on altars dedicated by each new Oba . The tradition of Ife bronze course objects dates back to the 14th century. The Benin bronzes are probably among the most famous of the tribal art of Black Africa.

Made of 100% Bronze, copper alloy.

Model is W 8 – H 22 and weight 0.4 kg.

This ceramic depiction of an ancestral elder was made by the Nok people of Nigeria, at the very start of the first millennium AD. This piece is a classic of the Nok culture. Little is known of the original function of the pieces, but theories include ancestor portrayal, grave markers, and charms to prevent crop failure, infertility, and illness. Also, based on the dome-shaped bases found on several figures, they could have been used as finials for the roofs of ancient structures.

 

Made of 100% terracotta.

Model is W 48 – H 15 and weight 1.2 kg.

"Elu" mask with hinged movable jaw originates from the Ogoni tribe in Nigeria, early 20th century. Lower jaw portion attached to upper by narrow wooden threads on each side. Semicircular disc like ears protrude from sides of face. Scarification marks with geometrically incised designs appear on forehead. The eyes are hollow almond shaped openings. The head decoration has a raised portion representing ancestors or title holders.

Made of 100% light hand-carved cane wood, fiber and pigments.

Model is W 33 - H 21 and weight 0.8 kg.

This Kunin statuette originates from Middle Benue River Valley, Nigeria, and is distinguished by its overall elegant proportions. It is stylistically compared to their Mumuye and Jukun neighbors. This figure is not very common and their role is little known but it has been reported that figures such as this are used in a cult activity known as Jup that is in the main dominated by men or in the case of women, Jem.

Made of 100% carved wood, patina.

Model is W 13 - H 69 and weight 4 kg.

This light mask (late 1800s) represents the spirit of an ancestor and was used for social control by Ngil, the judiciary association. The facial markings, abstract features and strong. Elegant lines are typical of Fang masks, which were among the most influential.

Made of 100% Native fiber, wood and paint.

Model is W 49 - H 18 and weight 1.5 kg.

This beautiful miniature head cast in the lost wax technique originates from Ife, Nigeria, the religious and former royal centre of the Yoruba people. It is believed to represent an Ooni which means king. Such sculptures such as this was very unqiue to the culture of African art. According to the oral traditions of the Yoruba people, Ife is the place where life and civilisation began. Ife is regarded as the legendary homeland of theYoruba-speaking peoples and its sacred ruler, the Ooni, is still revered as the descendant of the original creator gods.

Made of 100% "Bronze" Brass, copper alloy.

Model is W 9 – H 22 and weight 0.4 kg.

This beautiful mask with a figure surmounting it is an Epa masks origination from the Yoruba/Ekiti people of northern Nigeria. Masks such as these are considered one of the largest masks used in Africa, and worn as a helmet. The Yoruba/Ekiti festival celebrates life, unity, and abundance of the village, and honor the families and lineages of the elders. The female figure surmounting the mask is a traditional Yoruba power symbol of offering, feminine powers, create life-balancing men’s social skills as rulers and chiefs. These large masks have extraordinary presence-conveying some of their power to visually project abstract principles and sculptural authority. This is one of them and it would hold a prominent place in a collection.

Made of 100% Wood.

Model is W 69 H 19 and weight 3.2 kg.

This tribal Mask From the Chokwe is called pwo or mwana pwo mask and  originates from Angola. It has an elaborate hairline made up of a braided fibre fabric, beautiful and unusual scarification patterns on the forehead and cheeks. Pwo signifies womanhood and an elder ancestral female associated with fertility. The cross form on the forehead, known as cingelyengelye, is an early Portuguese influence.

Made of 100% wood, fiber, Patina.

Model is W 28 – H 17 and weight 0.5 kg.

The Jagunjagun ( 'warrior' or Ogun meaning 'god of war') mask represents ancestors of power with the ability to protect the community against external threats. It brings to mind energy, power and authority but is also a visual representation of past calvary that protected the Ekiti peoples during warfare. Epa helmet masks are used to promote health and wellbeing within by celebrating and honouring ancestors, cultural heroes and important individuals (including mothers, priests, farmers, kings and hunters) within a village. Originating in Ekiti and spreading to much of North-Eastern Yoruba towns (including Owo, Efon Alaye, Igbomina and Ijesa), the bi-annual, week-long Epa festival acknowledges the roles these individuals have played in building a successful community. The Jagunjagun ( 'warrior' or Ogun meaning 'god of war') mask represents ancestors of power with the ability to protect the community against external threats. It brings to mind energy, power and authority but is also a visual representation of past calvary that protected the Ekiti peoples during warfare.

Made of 100% wood.

Model is W 34 – H 79 and weight 2.5 kg.

This great Mumuye figure, carved with crescentic coiffure, an helmet like shaped head, large circular eyes and disc-like ears has a characteristical toroidal shape and the unmistakable stylistic sign of this Mumuye ethnic group.

Made of 100% Wood.

Model is W 70 - H 11 and weight 2 kg.

This authentic, free-standing brass head cast in the lost wax technique of the Benin Kingdom, in what is now Nigeria, exhibits a virtuosity and sophistication of style that has astonished the Western world since they were visited in the 15th century. The face's shape and unique expression, a tranquil and dignified presence with the transcendent gaze clearly indicate qualities of genuine nobility: endurance, far-sightedness, determination, and wisdom.

Made of 100% Copper

Age late 14th-early 15th century

Model is W 40 – H 26 and weight 5 kg.

This zoomorphic figure with protruding eyes and a large open mouth and carved teeth is a classic example of the Mambila people of northern Nigeria. They are thought to embody ancestors who are responsible for the clan's wealth.  The wide range of uses to which such a figure may have been employed was probably determined by the medicines in the possession of the owner, and how it was activated, rather than by specific stylistic characteristics of the sculpture itself.

Made of 100% wood, red pigments.

Model is W 39 - H 20 and weight 1.1 kg.

This Ife bracelet from Benin is made of bronze and was used as currency and left as a gift of great value to the bride, as a wish for prosperity. In addition to the consistency and weight, this cuff is remarkable because of the details of the decorations, which are a clear sign of the Benin artistic mastery. The holes, perfectly integrated in the design, demonstrate the use of the valuable lost wax technique.

Made of 100% Brass / Bronze

Model is W 6 – H 13 and weight 0.6 kg.

Finely cast bronze (brass - copper alloy) figural scene comes from Nigeria. It depicts a kneeling female figure worker or farmer. The work of bronze by the technique of wax lost in African art.

Made of 100% Bronze, copper alloy.

Model is W 6 – H 27 and weight 0.5 kg.

This finely crafted bronze Royal leopard was made by a craftsman blacksmith using the technique of lost wax, with beautifully detailed patterns, depicting the leopard skin. A "Leopard" was used as a symbol of Justice and power in the Yoruba culture. African proverbs about leopards are so "spot on": The rain wets the leopard's spots but does not wash them off." Leopard appears most frequently in yoruba art, as “king of the forest”, his reputation is as great as that of the Oba, or king. The leopard came to be a royal symbol as it heralded for the balance between his strength and his reserve and moderation as a leader. The leopard symbolizes the complete harmony between two compelling forces – the menacing and the moderating – that, in Benin, it is believed every ideal Oba should possess.

Made of 100% Bronze, copper alloy.

Model is W 38 – H 50 and weight 1.4 kg

This beautiful mask with a figure surmounting it is an Epa masks origination from the Yoruba/Ekiti people of northern Nigeria. Masks such as these are considered one of the largest masks used in Africa, and worn as a helmet.The Jagunjagun ( ‘warrior’ or Ogun meaning ‘god of war’) mask represents ancestors of power with the ability to protect the community against external threats. It brings to mind energy, power and authority but is also a visual representation of past calvary that protected the Ekiti peoples during warfare.

Made of 100% Wood, pigment.

Model is W 20 H 36 and weight 4 kg.

This authentic, well preserved bronze plaque of the Benin Kingdom in what is now Nigeria exhibits a virtuosity and sophistication of style that has astonished the Western world. The figure and pose are classic from the high period of Benin art in the 15th century and honor the King or Oba.

Made of 100% Bronze

Model is W 36 – H 28 and weight 64 kg.

This beautiful miniature head cast in the lost wax technique originates from Ife, Nigeria, the religious and former royal centre of the Yoruba people. It is believed to represent a king. According to the oral traditions of the Yoruba people, Ife is the place where life and civilisation began. Ife is regarded as the legendary homeland of theYoruba-speaking peoples and its sacred ruler, the Ooni, is still revered as the descendant of the original creator gods.

Made of 100% "Bronze" Brass, copper alloy.

Model is W 9 – H 22 and weight 0.4 kg.

This rare Wurkun (or Bikwin) small figure, in a post or staff-like form, is known as iagalagana and incarnates tutelary spirits. The stylized figure is stuck on iron rods, with a beautiful crusty red ocher patina. These statues were frequently washed with liquid clay, "fed" with millet beer offerings, rubbed with oil, explaining the thickness of the clay.

Made of 100% Iron, Paint.

Model is W 41 - H 14 and weight 3.5 kg.

This authentic antique Benin bronze ancestral altar bell, cast in the form of a dome comes from Nigeria. The bell is surmounted with by a horseman and adorned by geometical shape. Tribal bells were used for a variety of purposes, such as proclaiming a sacred presence as well as a neutralizing hostile or harmful forces. Bells were used as tools of communication, as portable instruments for conveying important messages, and as a form or currency. The predominant method employed by the Edo in creating objects like the Bells, called “lost-wax casting, does not permit for a mold to be used more than once, a fact which accounts for the idiosyncrasies and lack of exact copies in known examples of Benin bronzes. Using the bells and rattle stuffs to call the ancestor’s spirit, the oba offered sacrifices to him and to the earth on the altar.

Made of 100% Bronze, copper alloy.

Model is W 9 – H 32 and weight 0.4 kg.

This Kunin statuette originates from Middle Benue River Valley, Nigeria, and is distinguished by its overall elegant proportions. It is stylistically compared to their Mumuye and Jukun neighbors. This figure is not very common and their role is little known but it has been reported that figures such as this are used in a cult activity known as Jup that is in the main dominated by men or in the case of women, Jem.

Made of 100% carved wood, patina.

Model is W 7 - H 40 and weight 0.2 kg.

This Bembe statuette originates from the People's Republic of the Congo. Bembe ancestor statues are rare and they can only be found in the south western part of their territory. The most known are called Biteki, and portray generally impressive corporal scarification. They mostly represent Heads of village, warriors and women.

Made of 100% wood.

Model is W 74 - H 17 and weight 5 kg.

This finely cast bronze (brass - copper alloy) figural scene comes from Nigeria. It depicts a female figure, an elder smoking tobacco and holding, what seems to be a staff.

The work of bronze by the technique of wax lost in African art.

Made of 100% Bronze, copper alloy.

Model is W 7 – H 16 and weight 0.3 kg.

This unusual and particularly imaginative helmet like mask is from the Nsukka area, the northern part of the northcentral Igbo region in Nigeria. This region has one of the most complex and diverse mask making traditions in Nigeria.

Made of 100% wood

Model is W 33 – H 25 and weight 1.2 kg.

This finely carved bronze figure represents a dwarf at the court of Benin. Wearing courtly dress in continuation of the traditional bronze art of Benin in form of a bearded person with o-shaped legs and neck adornment. In Edo culture dwarfs were known as the jugglers and acrobats in the Oba court.

Made of 100% Bronze

Model is W 46 – H 22 and weight 5 k

This Early-mid 20th century mother-and-child figures are placed in shrines and used by diviners in northeastern Igboland, Nigeria. The Igbo figures of mother and child are very rare.

Made of 100% wood, kaolin.

Model is W 55 - H 19 and weight 3.5 kg.