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 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.

This hollowed helmet-like mask is called Agbogho Mmwo, and originates 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. The stylized facial features represents numerous attributes of the ideal of female beauty among the Igbo. Worn each year for 'The Fame of Maidens' ceremony, it is intended to instruct youths in attitudes necessary for moral as well as physical beauty, the moral ideals of purity, obedience, good character and generosity. Varied aged surface with areas of red, white, black and blue pigment.

Made of 100% wood,pigment.

Model is W 42 - H 26 and weight 1.1 kg.

Female spirit statue (Anjenu) originating from the Idoma peoples that live south of the Benue river. The statue evokes a spiritual protective power that inhabits the water or the bush and sometimes appears in dreams. Anjenu helps to cure illness and, above all, aids female fertility. The Anjenu was invoked by men who wanted their wives to become pregnant. Protruding conical breasts and navels are common. The face is usually painted with white pigments, scarification marks in front of the ears as well as the vertical one on the forehead, and the blackened lips surrounding the mouth with its clearly visible teeth - a stylistic characteristic often shared with Ibo people. Seated statues are believed to incarnate fertility, a frequent theme in the region.

Made of 100% wood, pigment.

Model is W 30 – H 50 and weight 3.6 kg.

This enigmatic creation originates from central Nigeria’s Benue River Region. It was a kinetic ancestral sculpture, devoted to agricultural rites as well as to those relating to initiation of young boys into adulthood. Access to those events was highly circumscribed. Women, children, and outsiders were not allowed to view those nocturnal apparitions.The upper half distills an ancestral presence to essential features that are dramatically amplified.

Made of 100% wood.

Model is W 28 – H 69 and weight 1.9 kg.

This beautiful Mama Bush Cow in full figure is classic example of a traditional African figure created by the Mama people who live in the interior of Nigeria in the Benue River Valley north of the Jos plateau. It is extremely rare to get hold of a Mama Bush Cow.

Made of 100% wood, cam wood, pigment.

Model is W 50 - H 16 and weight 2 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 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.

Vintage tribal ceremonial spoon nicely cast in bronze in the traditional lost wax method, and is decorated with typical tribal motifs. It has aged well, with good colour/patina and is in good condition.

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

Model is W 5 – H 41 and weight 0.5 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 8 – H 31 and weight 0.4 kg.

The beautifully carved figure is an important addition to any collection. The carving is a key example of an Igbo sculptural genre called ikenga. It depicts a women in a seated position with a child on her laps. The mother and child ikenga, an homage to maternity and motherhood, could have been part of a shrine, where it would have received prayers and sacrifices in return for the ancestors’ support and guidance or had a more public role appearing during festivals and religious ceremonies.

Made of 100% wood.

Model is W 28 – H 73 and weight 2.6 kg.

This fantastic Chamba statue, is not very common and has an exceptional aesthetic presence and compelling abstract design. It was thought to have either a protective or healing function for the Wurkun or Bikwin peoples of the Benue River Valley.

Made of 100% carved wood and camwood powder.

Model is W 60 – H 14 and weight 3 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, 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 Mid 20th century Chamba statue is not very common and their role is little known but it has been reported that  figures such as this are used in 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 and camwood powder.

Model is W 50 - H 167 and weight 4.7 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 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.

This kneeling maternity figure originates from the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria. This figure depict represents a queen mother as she would sit in state on formal occasions. The kneeling position is a gesture of respect, devotion, and submission. Thus the figure represented in the carving is probably a petitioner rather than a deity. The sculpture may have been a votive offering from a woman who had successfully petitioned for a child. Such royal maternity figures were kept with the venerated seats of ancestral chiefs in special rooms, or they were housed in the shrines of powerful deities that were particularly concerned with the well-being of a royal person, perhaps a queen mother.

Made of 100% wood.

Model is W 66 - H 14 and weight 3.8 kg.

This zoomorphic figure with protruding eyes is a classic example of the Mambila people of northern Nigeria.  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, pigments.

Model is W 41 - H 18 and Weight 1.2 kg.

A sculpture representing the ancestors of the Chamba that settled south of the Benue, nearby the Jurkun. These type of Statue of the Chamba are quite rare and their role is little known but it has been reported that figures such as these 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, pigments.

Model is W 11 – H 40 and weight 2 kg.

Female spirit statue (Anjenu) originating from the Idoma peoples that live south of the Benue river. The statue evokes a spiritual protective power that inhabits the water or the bush and sometimes appears in dreams. Anjenu helps to cure illness and, above all, aids female fertility. The Anjenu was invoked by men who wanted their wives to become pregnant. Protruding conical breasts and navels are common. The face is usually painted with white pigments, scarification marks in front of the ears as well as the vertical one on the forehead, and the blackened lips surrounding the mouth with its clearly visible teeth - a stylistic characteristic often shared with Ibo people. Seated statues are believed to incarnate fertility, a frequent theme in the region.

Made of 100% wood, pigment.

Model is W 30 – H 50 and weight 0.6 kg.

This rare and beautiful 19th–mid-20th century mother-and-child maternity figure carved for the Royal Court originates from northeastern Igboland, Nigeria. The Shango crest sits on atop the head, with ethnic adornments and scarification and exceptional detail in the facial expression. Shango is the god of thunder and lightning. Shango is both feared in the context of justice and magic and venerated as his manifestations bring beneficial rain for crops.

Made of 100% wood.

Model is W 75 - H 16 and weight 5.2 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 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 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 beautiful Punu mask from Gabon is called ‘Okuyi’ or ‘Mukudji. It was worn during acrobatic dances by men on stilts.

Made of 100% wood, kaolin, pigments.

Model is W 33 - H 25 and weight 1.6 kg.