Early 20th century. Diameter 47,5 cm; depth about 17,0 cm. A conic shape shield of buffalo leather, of the type of the Ethiopian highlands. With relieved margin, covered with dark brown velvet on the front (velvet comes from Persia) and richly...
Bronze. The female figure is cm. 35,0 high; the male figure is cm. 31,7 high. Grams 1348,0. Headed by the Oluwo (chief priest), the Yoruba Ogboni (meaning 'cult of old age') is a society of respected elderly men and women responsible for the management and...
Wood cm. 54 high; weight 2,1 kg. Motherhood plays an important role in all societies, but in African culture, a woman is often evaluated by the number of children she produces: in traditional West African societies, the woman has the main purpose of fathering and...
The Sidama are an ethnic Cushitic people traditionally inhabiting the Sidama Zone of the Southern Ethiopia. They speak the Sidamo language, which is a language of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. The Sidama preserved their cultural heritage, including their traditional religion and language despite the...
Wood. Cm. 96 width x cm. 20 high x cm. 19 depth. Kg. 8,0. "Zoomorphic helmet masks like the one seen here are worn by members of the all-male Senufo association known as Poro, during funerals of important elders...
Leather, iron beads. Cm. 17,0 high x cm. 12,5 width. Grams 1992. The Himba (or OvaHimba) are indigenous peoples living in northern Namibia, in the Kunene Region (formerly Kaokoland) and on the other side of the Kunene River in Angola. The Himba are considered the...
Engraved wooden jewel case, paint. End 19th century – cm. 25,0 high x cm. 25,3 width x cm. 17,3 depth. The Imazighen (singular Amazigh) also known as the Berbers are among the original peoples of North Africa. Their myths, legends and history...
Terracotta. Cm 52,5 high x cm. 14,5 wide. The Nok culture is an early Iron Age population whose material remains are named after the Ham village of Nok in Kaduna State of Nigeria, where their terracotta sculptures were first discovered in 1928. The Nok...
Wood. Cm. 55,0 high. The Zaramo people are an East African ethnic group found along the coast of Tanzania, particularly in its Pwani Region. By oral tradition, the Zaramo are said to be descendants of the Shomvi people under the lead of the...
Handmade Malian cotton fabric traditionally dyed with fermented mud. It has an important place in traditional Malian culture and it’s a symbol of Malian cultural identity. In traditional bògòlanfini production, men weave the cloth and women dye it. On narrow looms, strips of cotton fabric about 15 centimetres...