Nigeria

Yoruba Artist, Nigeria, “Dance Staff for Esu/Elegba”, Late nineteenth–early twentieth century. Wood, 16 x 3 1/2 x 8 inches, Fred and Rita Richman Collection, 1980.500.72, High Museum of Art, Atlanta. © High Museum of Art, Atlanta In this dance staff made to honor Èshù, two faces look in opposite directions. Èshù is a deity honored by the Yoruba people of Nigeria and known throughout the African Diaspora as Elegua or Elegba.Èshù mediates opposing forces to bring together different worlds. He bears messages from the... [Lire la suite]

Lot 15. Statuette masculine Yoruba, Nigeria. Ivoire. H 16 cm. Estimation: €3,000 - €5,000. Adjugé 8 450 €. Courtesy Cornette de Saint Cyr. Belle et importante représentation d'un personnage assis tenant un bol de ses deux mains. On notera le traitement particulier des pieds dont seuls les talons touchent le sol. Le classicisme du style indique une origine dans les ateliers royaux d'Owo ou d'Oyo Si comme pour la plupart des ivoires Yoruba qui ne sont pas des iroke ifa, la fonction précise d'une... [Lire la suite]

HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong will present Curiosity V on 2 April at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. In its fifth instalment, the sale offers an eclectic and thought-provoking assemblage of works ranging across time and geographical space, from Ice Age Siberia, to Bronze Age China, Ancient Egypt and Medieval Europe. Highlights include an important Neolithic jade cong from the Liangzhu culture formerly in the distinguished collection of Duan Fang (1861-1911); a monumental stucco Buddha head dating from the... [Lire la suite]

EVANSTON, Ill. - An ambitious new exhibition will showcase the splendor and power of the lost kingdoms and commercial centers of Africa, using centuries-old artifacts from sites around the Sahara Desert and artwork from West and North Africa, Europe and the Middle East that reveal the reach of Saharan networks, in a firstof-its-kind show that will open in January. The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University’s “Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture and Exchange Across Medieval Saharan Africa” is the first major... [Lire la suite]

Pair of bracelets: Crocodile Heads, Edo peoples, Nigeria, Court of Benin, 17th–19th century. Brass, gilt. H. 5 1/4 x W. 3 3/8 in. (13.3 x 8.6 cm). Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, 1991, 1991.17.80 & 1991.17.81. © 2000–2018 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The oba and chiefs of Benin wear pairs of ornate bracelets at palace festivals. Long and cylindrical, these cufflike ornaments may be made of either ivory or brass and display imagery reflecting the exalted status of their bearers.  The spiral... [Lire la suite]

Bracelet, Edo peoples, Nigeria, Court of Benin, 1550–1680 (?). Ivory, copper (?). H. 5 1/8 x Diam. 3 9/16 in. (13 x 9 cm). The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1964, 1978.412.340. © 2000–2018 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. At palace festivals, the king and chiefs of Benin wear pairs of long, cylindrical bracelets made of ivory or brass decorated with images that symbolize royal power. On this example, images of mudfish and Portuguese heads--both referring to... [Lire la suite]

Hip Ornament: Face, Edo peoples, Nigeria, Court of Benin, 16th–17th century. Brass. H. 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm). Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, 1991, 1991.17.49. © 2000–2018 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Benin history, religion, and political structure are brought to life every year in a series of palace rituals intended to purify the kingdom and renew the spiritual powers of the king, the oba. Many of these vivid and solemn rites were introduced by individual obas in order to commemorate events in their reigns... [Lire la suite]

Head of Iyoba, Edo peoples, Nigeria, Court of Benin, 18th–19th century. Brass (cast), iron. H. 21 in. × W. 10 1/2 in. × D. 10 3/4 in. (53.3 × 26.7 × 27.3 cm). Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, 1991, 1991.17.4. © 2000–2018 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the Benin kingdom, the iyoba, or mother of the oba (king), occupies an important and historically significant place within Benin's political hierarchy. The title was first conferred upon Idia, the mother of king Esigie, who used her... [Lire la suite]

Kneeling female figure holding an offering bowl, Nigeria, Iwa Yoruba people, 19th century. Wood. H 32 cm. © Serge Schoffel - Art Premier at BRAFA 2019, Stand 9c. Provenance: Ralph Nash, London 1960s; William W. Brill, New York, ref. no. 475-A; Sotheby’s, New York, 17 November 2006, lot 52 Literature: Selections from the William W. Brill collection of African art, exhibition catalogue, Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, 5 May-31 August 1969, p. 25, n° 36; The Duluth News-tribune, 8 February 1970, p. 6; 'La... [Lire la suite]

Statue of an armed warrior ancestor Wipong, Nigeria, Jukun Kingdom, from 14th to 18th century. Wood. H 70 cm. © Pierre Dartevelle at BRAFA 2019, Stand 21c. Provenance: collection Durant-Dessert, France Representation of a female heiress, Mali, Bandiagara escarpment, Tellem people, 17th century. Wood. H 29.8 cm. © Pierre Dartevelle at BRAFA 2019, Stand 21c. Provenance: private collection Monzino, Milan. Songye, Kalewbe group, figure of power, Democratic Republic of the... [Lire la suite]