Body / Belly Mask

Belly
Mask
Wood, black pigment
Size in cm: 36 x 17 x 12
Weight: 300g

The Belly Mask from the Makonde tribe, Southeastern Tanzania. Carved from a solid tree trunk the hollow to ergonomically fit the front part of the body. The mask is normally part of the costume of a Ndimu masker and are normally worn by a male masquerader on a return ritual that accompanied the return of boys / men from the bush camp. The mask represents a pregnant young woman. These masks are no longer made or worn today. These artefact is worn together with a matching face mask.

Tokoloshi (Power Figure)

Tokoloshi Figure
Wood, textile, pigment
Size in cm: 44 x 10 x 10
Weight: 300g

The tokoloshi is a magical figure which is highly feared in the traditional Owambo Culture of Namibia. According to elders, the tokoloshi being comes at nighttime and brings along death. Strong believers in this mythological being have a fear of sleeping in direct contact with the ground, since saying goes, that the soul will be taken from there, while asleep. The overall power of this figure remains questionable if it would bring bad luck or simply a form of spiritual protection. The Owambo society live in the northern part of Namibia and its surrounding border countries like Angola and Botswana. This piece however is sourced from Namibia.

Nkishi Figure (Power Figure)

Nkishi Figure
Wood, textile, horn, sea shells (cowry shells)
Size in cm: 65 x 21 x 15
Weight: 3kg

This figure is a power figure which protects the villagers from dark and evil forces. From carefully calculated correspondences the prominent stomach and large protruding head with its massive horn creates a very aggressive and powerful image, tempered by the perfection of the textiles and the beauty of the shining surface. Always with african art of such kind, the sea shells indicate the ritual power of such an artefact. Most probably the ears served as a magical element of some sort and the expressive sculpture is carved in a Songye style, with hands placed on either side of the abdomen. The Songye live on the left bank of the Lualaba River in an area of savanna crossed by numerous major river systems.

Luba Headrest

Headrest
Wood, blackish paint/polish
Size in cm: 21 x 21 x 8
Weight: 400g

Used by the members of the Luba elite, artefacts like these elevated the head of its resting owner. Its function may appear not important at all but it served an important purpose by protecting the sleeper's elaborate coiffure. Such pieces of art did require some fifty hours to create.The Luba peoples are settled in the land of what is today Democratic Republic of Congo. As early as the seventeenth century, the Luba headed an extensive, centrally organized state structured on the principles of divine monarchy.

Face Mask

Face Mask
Gabon
Wood, painted white and brown
Size in cm: 32 x 20 x 18
Weight: 600g

This mask is a variant of the "white masks of Ogowe", which are primarely used throughout central and western Gabon. Nowadays such masks are primarily inteded for entertainment on festive occasions and rarely fulfill their ritual functions. Traditionally these ritual masks have been used officiating at funerals. The dance embodied the spirits of male and female ancestors. The diamond/square shaped pattern on the forehead 'according to research' present a sexual connotation. The woven hairband or the hairline over the rounded face is a typical style for woman in this region, from the beginning of the twentieth century.