1960s. Height 36,5 cm (cm. 39,0 on the stand); weight 936,3 grams (including stand). Clear evidence of ritual use. These ritual phalluses were placed on household altars or directly into the ground to stimulate crop growth. Legba is a very important figure in the Fon and Ewe religions traditionally practiced in Benin...
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 decorated with ornamented brass elements: an arched shield boss, 4 bronze...
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 wellbeing of their community through the...
The Khomissar, in the form of a stylized hand, is believed to ward off the evil eye.
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 raising children. Understanding the importance of...
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 conquest by Emperor...
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 and other ceremonies. These prestigious and powerful masks are visual statements that...
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 last (semi-) nomadic, pastoralist people of...
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 span 9,000 years, back to the Proto-Mediterraneans. They have...
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 Culture appeared in northern Nigeria around 1500...
