African Art Auction Ending 9/28

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HEAVY BRASS ANKLET. Mongo or Kondo people, Democratic Republic of Congo. Dates from the early 20th century or before. To make this anklet, molten brass was poured into a flat mold in the soil that was created from the impression made with a wooden form. When still hot, the flat brass ingot was wrapped around the heavily padded ankle of a wealthy man’s wife. Although now tarnished with age, the anklet would have been kept brightly polished by the woman who wore it. It served as a store of wealth, like money in a bank account, and as a mark of high prestige in the community. Knowledge of how the procedure of attaching and removing the anklet was actually performed is no longer extant. Considering the method by which the anklet was produced, the finely etched surface design with intersecting bands of thin parallel lines is truly remarkable. The inside reveals the uneven texture of the cooled molten brass, providing a strong contrast with the finely finished outer surface. H 4.75in Diameter 4.5in. Weight 7lb 3oz.

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WOMAN’S (MMABAAN) WRAP. Ashanti people, Ghana. The name of this very soft cloth comes from the warp design in strips which is almost entirely covered by an extraordinary number of weft faced, largely gold-tone designs. Alternate strips are solid blue with fewer weft faced designs. This cloth was collected in Bonwire, the center of Ashanti weaving in July 2004 from Gyasi Solomon whose father was a master weaver. According to Solomon, this cloth belonged to a member of the Ekona clan. Made from 12 hand woven, hand sewn strips. Cotton, silk. 68.5in x 39.5in.

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HELMET MASK. Temne of Lokko people, Sierra Leone. This extraordinary Jolly (pronounced Jollay) Society mask was carved from a single piece of wood, except for the articulated arms that are attached with nails. The arms would swing back and forth as the masker danced. The mask has been repainted more than once with the deepest layer having been white or pale blue. The helmet consists of four triangular faces that act a legs when the mask was set on a surface such as a table. This is significant because some Temne/Lokko masks were also altars to Mami Wata, a water spirit. The four faces and the figure seated on the mask have Hindu-inspired facial features and decorative elements typically found on Jolly Society masks (see Lot # 11). Wood, paint, nails. H 22.5in. Published in Rosen/Rosen 2013 p. 61 Figs 67-68. Exhibited at the Free Library Gallery Philadelphia 2012.

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ASAFO MILITIA FLAG. Fante people, Ghana. This flag represents the proverb, “The sun is above and it can burn like this, but how much more [ hotter it would be] if it came down to earth”. The message to enemies and rivals is, “If you think you can stand up to us, then come close and find out how hot [tough] we are”. The flag dates from the mid-twentieth century and shows evidence of ritual use. The narrator is pointing at the sun suspended between the earth and clouds. The sun represents the Company that owns the flag. The canton is a Union Jack. Entirely hand sewn with identical appliqued figures on both sides. Cotton textile. 54in x 42in. (See LOT # 2 for additional information about Asafo flags).

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FACE MASK Anang (Ibibio) people. Nigeria. This unusual mask shows a pair mermaid-like sirens with fish-tail lower extremities and an upper extremity depicted as a fin. Rudimentary arms are present on the front and back. The figures are joined by a snake arching overhead. The painted motifs of the figures and the face below them, their mermaid-like features, and the snake suggest that this mask was devoted to the water spirit, Mami Wata. Wood, paint, nails, rubber strap. H 22.5in.

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JOLLY (JOLLAY) SOCIETY FACE MASK. Temne people, Makene, Sierra Leone. Attached to the top of the face mask with curved eye-slits is a small three-dimensional female head with a smiling visage and prominent neck rings. Ruffs made from white yarn decorate both faces. They represent highly prized ruffs that in earlier slave trade times would have been made from fur or ostrich feathers. Mirrors on the front and back provide protection from evil spirits by deflecting their emanations. The performer was disguised by a cloth shroud hanging from the back of the mask that now covers the custom base. In performance, the small upper head rocked back and forth. Wood, paint, wire, cloth, yarn, decorative material. H 21in. See LOT # 35 FOR A RELATED MASK. Exhibited at the Free Library Gallery Philadelphia 2012. Published in Rosen/Rosen 2013 p89 Fig 117. See LOT # 35 FOR A RELATED MASK.

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FEMALE FETISH PUPPET. IBIBIO people, Nigeria. This seated figure with an articulated jaw (attached with leather) belongs to the Ekon Society tradition. The open mouth reveals multiple teeth. The arms, attached with nails, are not mobile. The figure has a large umbilical hernia. A big nail driven into the right groin that exits through the right buttock is a source of endless speculation. On custom base. Wood, string, nails, leather, cloth. H 10.5in.

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JOLLY (JOLLAY) SOCIETY FACE MASKS. Temne people, Sierra Leone. Both were worn in Jolly (Jollay) Society masquerades. (A) Very old female mask showing wear from ceremonial use. The hole in the central lobe of the coiffure contained a receptacle for “medicine” that enhanced the power of the mask. Surface abrasions reveal several layers of paint, suggesting that this mask was highly prized and refreshed multiple times. The mask’s features resemble those of a mask carved by Abdul Aziz Lasisi Alaode Mukhtarr (Ajani) published in Plate 5 by John W Nunley in his seminal book on the Jolly Society and related groups, “Moving with the Face of the Devil”. Wood, paint, nails. H 9in. Published in Rosen/Rosen 2013 p85 Fig 110. (B) Male mask painted with navy blue enamel. A few evident abrasions reveal previous coats of red and pink paint. The facial features are similar to the mask in (A), suggesting it might be the work of the same artist. The coiffure is parted into two asymmetrical lobes. Wood, paint. H 9in. Published in Rosen/Rosen 2013 p 86 Fig 110.

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KOSSO BLANKET OR COVER. Bamana ot Maninka people, Mali. Kosso blankets were used as a sleeping blanket on cool nights and to repel mosquitoes. Loops have been added to one end of this blanket suggest that this example might also have been used as a room divider. Entirely hand woven and hand sewn. Cotton. 89in x 62in. See Pascal J Imperato “Bamana and Maninka Cover and Blankets” African Arts 1974; 7:56-67, 91.

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MINSERAH MISSIONARY CHURCH OFFERING RECEPTACLE. Mende people, Sierra Leone. Minserah sculptures are female altar figures at which women come to pray for help with fertility and other personal issues. This exceedingly unusual minserah has features of a White colonial woman (long hair tied into braids with tasseled ends hanging down to each shoulder and a small mouth with pursed lips) and an African woman (neck rings and forehead scarifications. After the torso was transected at the mid-abdomen level, the upper abdomen and chest were hollowed out in order to insert a bell and a hole was cut in the back. Then the figure was nailed to a collection box that is now lost. Offerings in the form of coins dropped into the 1.5inch slot in the back would ring the bell as they fell into the box. The value of the coins could be told from the sound of the bell. This was an ingenious method for attracting African worshipers by bringing one of their altars into the church as a functional object. Wood, pigment, nails, bell. H 18.5in. Ex Jeremiah Cole collection.

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FERTILITY ALTAR FIGURE. Kulango people, Ivory Coast. The Kulango people live in the northeastern part of Ivory Coast and the adjacent part of Ghana. This female sculpture seated on an Akan-style stool holds an egg (a symbol of fertility) in her extended, upturned right palm. Characteristic features are the crested, bilobed coiffure, elongated, crooked neck, elongated torso and breasts, and extensive scarifications. Collected in 1999. Wood, pigment. H 27in.

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MAN’S WRAP. Ewe people, Kpetoe Ghana. This unusual textile consists of 16 hand woven, hand sewn strips all of which have the same warp stripe pattern, except that the stripe on one edge is blue in some strips and brown in others. Collected in Ghana in 2005. 109in x 49in.

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ANTHROPOMORPHIC BAWOONG TCHITCHERI. Moba people, Togo. Relatively abstract tchitcheri figures represent ancestors. They vary in height from 12 inches or less to several feet tall. This example is in the intermediate height category referred to as Bawoong. It would be kept in a home where it served as an altar that was treated with libations such as gin or chicken blood when it is petitioned for protection, health or prosperity. Tchitcheri are carved by sons of diviners who are ritually enabled to create these important objects. Failure to follow prescribed rituals is said to risk blindness or insanity. Taller figures (tchitcheri sakuna) were placed outside the family compound or in cultivated fields to protect crops. The carved necklace on this exceptional example suggests that it represents a female ancestor. It came from the Dapaong region in northern Togo and was collected in Togo in 2007. On custom base. Wood, libations. H 28.5in.

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BATIK TEXTILE STILL PARTLY SEWN. Lomé, Togo. This partly completed cotton batik textile provides an opportunity to see the technique in use. It was collected in 2007 at the “Village Artisinal de Lomé” where it was being worked on by D’almeida Ernestine Akpé, the assistant to the batik dye master (“maitresse teinturiere”) Mme Anoumou Akpabie K. I. Madjé. In this process, white cotton cloth was first dyed entirely turquoise. Then it was sewn with white nylon thread in a particular way to create numerous rows of tight clumps and placed in vat of maroon dye. Cloth sewn in the clumps resisted the maroon dye, thereby keeping the turquoise pattern. The attached picture shows Ernestine cutting the nylon threads to release the resist. Cotton, dye, nylon thread. 85in x 41in.

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JOLLY (JOLLAY) SOCIETY HEAD CREST MASK. Temne people, Sierra Leone. This towering mask is situated and rotates on a nail in the dome of half of a large coconut shell. The eight rings and the 11 inch neck are a mark of exceptional beauty and health. The 4 inch male head perched on the crown of the woman’s head sports a ruff of white and red yarn. Red yarn has also been tied between the neck and the coconut shell, possibly serving as a lubricant. The miniature male head on top of the much larger female bust suggests male dependence on women as expressed in the saying, “woman tote man”. Wood, paint, yarn, nail. H 27in. Published in Rosen/Rosen 2013 p 68 Fig 84.

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KARIKPO FACE MASK. Ogoni people, Nigeria. Worn during rituals honoring ancestors and ancestral deities at the beginning of agricultural festivals, these masks belonging to the Karikpo Society mimic the darting movements of a bushbuck antelope. Wood, pigment. H 32in. Published in Rosen/Rosen 2013 p 118 Fig 162.