Magdalene Odundo has spent her entire career making clay pots, a process she refers to as ‘magic.’ As a new exhibition opens in the UK, MutualArt...
A fine female Mwana Pwo mask from the Tschokwe tribe, DR Congo The Chokwe are well known for art objects produced to celebrate and validate the royal court. Expressive dance mask that represents the ideal type of woman Mwana PWO. Artful coiffure of fibres, coloured with Tukula powder. Mwana Pwo mask with beautiful brownish patina. The scarification marks, which may duplicate those of the actual woman whose beauty inspired the carver, include the cingelyengelye design on the forehead. This cruciform design was probably derived from tin pendants traded into the Chokwe region by Portuguese voyagers as early as the seventeenth century. Material: mask carved from hardwood, mask face brownish black sweating layered patina. The mask has hair made from rope. Condition: Fine aged condition, slight signs of aging. Object Mwana Pwo mask Ethnic group: Chokwe Country: DR Congo Material: Wood, rope Estimated period: Second half 20th century Sold with stand: No Dimensions: 26x25x22 cm Weight: 800 gram Condition: Good condition, used with some signs of wear
As talks continue between the UK and Nigeria over Benin Bronzes, we survey where in the world are majority of these art historical treasures.
In Africa the metal gold has been used for centuries by kings and royalty to craft royal regalia to wear and also intriguing symbolic objects.
From objects to relics, African art has always been part of daily life, along with the spiritual and symbolic culture of our ancestors. From generation to generation, the art of creating objects was established as a norm, identity, tradition, and pride.From basketry to cultural artifacts, African craftsmanship is a blend of various representations, visual, decorative, and aesthetic. They reflected the lifestyles, the thinking of the different tribes and communities who made them. Rapid urbanization and new cultural influences some art and century-old skills disappeared but fortunately with the dramatic increase in the global appreciation of African arts and crafts, which has brought both its functionality ad aesthetics into the limelight.The export of African Art and Crafts to collectors, interior designers, and museums in the USA, Europe, and Australia has bloomed. So here is an insight into some of the African artistry with their historical perspectives, designs, styles, and heritage status.BASKETRYAfrican basketry is a dynamic craft. It represents the finest fusion of indigenous culture, environment, and technology. Traditional fibers used in basketry reflect the local habitat. They include illala palm, sisal leaves, and fiber, raffia (African bamboo), fibrous tree and plant roots such as makenge, vines, leaves (banana and fan palm), cane, bark wood, and papyrus. Dyes are obtained from natural sources like roots, barks, fruit and berries, leaves, clay, dung, or various combinations of the above.Southern Africa has a diverse basketry tradition, with great weaving masters and different techniques found in South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho Angola, and Mozambique.You can get it here.THE CHOCKWE CHAIR Chokwe tribe dates back to the 15th century, and they can be found primarily in Lunda Sul and northern Moxico provinces, in Angola.The ornate chairs were used as thrones to validate the royal court and portray images of the royal lineage and familial predecessors.Made with leather-covered seats, decorative brass tacks, and figurative scenes, the Chockwe chair represents a sign of power, rites, spiritual aspect of life, and good omen.Photo Courtesy: Bruno MignotKUBA WISDOM BASKETSThe Kuba peoples migrated from the distant north to their current location along the Sankuru River, in the Republic Democratic of Congo.The remarkable rich artistry comprises beautiful cloth, divination oracles, carve headrests, masks, and of course the wisdom baskets.This basket is said to serve as a container for royal amulets, that was used during the King’s speech.These relics are exquisitely embellished with colorful glass beads, cowries glass beads, and copper and raffia cloth.DOGON DOORSThe Dogon tribe in Mali is among the oldest surviving African cultures.This finely-carved shutter or door is just one of the Dogon art manifests which include masks, statues, and vessels. Once adorned a Dogon granary, these striking objects portray ancestral figures to protect the people of the village. The symbolic figures of the doors can vary, from pairs of breast representing fertility to sun lizards and scenes of life served to protect the entrance by making it sacrosanct.YORUBA BEADED CROWNThe Yoruba or Oba crown is the ultimate symbol of Yoruba kingship.Adorned with tiny seed glass, these stunning objects were a signifier of wealth and royal ancestral power. The birds surmounting the top of the crown signify the power of women who supported and sustained the oba’s right to rule. It also protects onlookers from the danger of casting their eyes directly upon the divine presence of the oba.
A fine female Mwana Pwo mask from the Tschokwe tribe, DR Congo The Chokwe are well known for art objects produced to celebrate and validate the royal court. Expressive dance mask that represents the ideal type of woman Mwana PWO. Artful coiffure of fibres, coloured with Tukula powder. Mwana Pwo mask with beautiful brownish patina. The scarification marks, which may duplicate those of the actual woman whose beauty inspired the carver, include the cingelyengelye design on the forehead. This cruciform design was probably derived from tin pendants traded into the Chokwe region by Portuguese voyagers as early as the seventeenth century. Material: mask carved from hardwood, mask face brownish black sweating layered patina. The mask has hair made from rope. Condition: Fine aged condition, signs of age and use. Object Mwana Pwo mask Ethnic group: Chokwe Country: DR Congo Material: Wood, rope Estimated period: Second half 20th century Sold with stand: No Dimensions: 27x18x17 cm Weight: 1100 gram Condition: Good condition, used with some signs of wear
Oro, the essence of communication, takes place in the eyes. —Yoruba axiomPresenting a cross-cultural selection of works from west, central, and east Africa, spanning the 13th to the 19th centuries, The Inner Eye: Vision and Transcendence in African Arts raises profound questions about the role of vision and culturally determined ways of seeing, both in our experience of the arts and perception more generally.
Jean-Bedel BOKASSA is crowned Emperor BOKASSA I. December 5th, 1977. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
A fine terracotta Mwana Pwo mask from the Tschokwe tribe, DR Congo. The Chokwe are well known for art objects produced to celebrate and validate the royal court. Expressive dance mask that represents the ideal type of woman Mwana PWO. Artful coiffure of fibres, coloured with Tukula powder. Mwana Pwo mask with beautiful brownish patina. The scarification marks, which may duplicate those of the actual woman whose beauty inspired the carver, include the cingelyengelye design on the forehead. This cruciform design was probably derived from tin pendants traded into the Chokwe region by Portuguese voyagers as early as the seventeenth century. Material: terracotta with textile on top with cauri shells. Condition: Fine aged condition, signs of age and use. Provenance: Manfred Schäfer collection, ex- gallery owner from Ulm, Germany. Object Mwana Pwo Mask Ethnic group: Chokwe Country: DR Congo Material: Terracotta, Textile, Cauri Estimated period: Mid 20th century Sold with stand: No Dimensions: 22x17x9 cm Weight: 600 gram Condition: Good condition, used with some signs of wear
Box in the Form of a Leopard's Head Benin Empire, 19th century The Brooklyn Museum
View all our seating, decorative objects and super vintage, antique and designer items here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/RiverSpaVintage and subscribe to our mailing list at https://www.riverspavintage.com Treasured and admired by the British royals, this is a hugely significant, impressive and extremely rare Mid-Century Ghanaian Ashanti or Asante ceremonial stool in wonderful condition. This stool is so remarkable because, apart from smaller decorative carvings, it is identical to the one presented to Queen Elizabeth II, which is currently on display in the Royal Collection - number RCIN 69194. The marvellous carved design beneath the ‘seat’ is extremely rare and the only other one we have seen is the one owned by the late Queen. Wonderfully ornamental and extremely sturdy and heavy, this stool was carved out of a single piece of solid hardwood and features a stepped base beneath an organically carved Adinkra symbol for the 'Supremacy Of God', which supports a curved seat with intricate carvings to match the base. These intricate carvings are the only variance from the stool owned by the Queen and now owned by King Charles III. You can see from the photos that the Queen’s stool has slightly less intricate border carvings to the seat and the base than this one, but we don’t know the significance of this. However, the very helpful curator of the Royal Collection told us the following about the stool presented to the Queen: "The stool is of traditional Asante form. Ceremonial stools of this kind are made by the Asante people for important chiefs and officeholders. They derive from the foremost symbol of the Asante kingdom, the Golden Stool, which according to tradition descended from heaven in the seventeenth century. It becoming the unifying political symbol or force for all Asante, and a central component of regalia. The divine stool was not used as a seat but instead was displayed on a chair of its own during court ceremonies. “Today, important chiefs are commemorated by their stools, which are sometimes placed in a separate room or area of a room in honour of their memory. The stools are understood to be imbued with the spirit or essence of their owner (sunsum). “The Royal Collection stool is unsigned, and no details about the maker were provided at the time of presentation. Our current provenance record suggests it was presented to Queen Elizabeth II in 1981; however, I believe this may be an error and that it was presented in 1961, as the late queen made a Commonwealth Visit to Ghana in that year. It was certainly made after 1960, when Ghana achieved independence, since the plaque refers to the Republic of Ghana. Therefore a production date of 1960-1981 is likely. “The central carving beneath the seat is in the shape of an adinkra symbol called gye nyame, meaning ‘supremacy of god’. Adinkra symbols had originated among the Asante by the early nineteenth century. Several hundred symbols have been recorded, and each relates to a different concept or proverb. Many are drawn from popular sayings and folklore. The characters feature heavily in decorative embellishment and are traditionally also printed onto textiles using stamps made from dried calabash." We feel honoured to have a limited ownership of this hugely significant, incredibly rare and wonderfully sculptured Ghanaian stool which has such a significant link to the British royal family. CONDITION This is in very good condition. Carved out of a single piece of wood, this is extremely solid, sturdy and structurally sound. Apart from a few minor knocks and bumps, which only add to its authentic vintage charm, it's in wonderful condition and if well looked after it should last for centuries to come - please see the photos. MEASUREMENTS Height - 42.5cm, Width - 57cm, Depth - 35cm, Seat Height - 34cm, Seat Width - 50cm, Seat Depth - 33.5cm, Weight - 9.5kg. DELIVERY The UK delivery price is quoted, or contact us to collect from Warwick UK. FOR INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY QUOTES please contact us with your postcode/zipcode - the current International delivery quote is just a place-holder. SOCIAL MEDIA Enjoy browsing through our large range of vintage items by clicking on our River Spa Vintage name or icon, get in touch with any queries and follow us on social media @RiverSpaVintage for regular updates and previews at the below links. Thanks, River Spa Vintage. Website - https://www.riverspavintage.com Etsy - https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/RiverSpaVintage Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/riverspavintage/ FB - https://www.facebook.com/River-Spa-Vintage Twitter - https://twitter.com/RiverSpaVintage
Throne in African walnut by Arno Declercq Dimensions: W 70 x L 50 x H 55 cm Materials: made entirely out of solid African walnut Hand turned, sanded and finished with varnish Arno Declercq Belgian designer and art dealer who makes bespoke objects with passion for design, atmosphere, history and craft. Arno grew up in a family with parents who like to work with beautiful brands and objects. His father studied at the Royal Academy of Arts Fashion Department, he worked for Bikkembergs and made his own fashion brands, but has also collected tribal arts for more than 20 years. His mother, who worked with his father from the beginning, bought a shoe store in 2010 where they sold brands as Rick Owens, Ann Demeulemeester, Maison Martin Margiela, ... With the interest in beauty he learned from his parents, Arno studied interior design, after learning a lot about materials and with great knowledge of history he designed interiors and opened his own gallery for ethnographic art and design. The collection has come to the idea that there are too few interiors where they no longer have the big and static vases and candlesticks that the people had in big houses over 100 years ago. By focusing on architecture, ancient arts and design, after war buildings, defense buildings (bunkers and fortresses) and tribal arts, he created a collection that became a Classic. Each piece is unique because it is entirely handcrafted by him. Made of tropical hardwood called Iroko this he discovered after one of his many trips to West Africa interested in voodoo arts. In these strange tribal arts, the wood "Iroko" is used in many objects, according to their culture, the ancestors lives in these trees, and they also call this tree "the king of the forest". Arno also combines this with Belgian oak, that dried for more than 30 years, wood that was provided for the many furniture makers in Mechelen. By treating these objects through the Yakusugi technique or another mentioned "Shou Sugi Ban" an ancient Japanese technique where the objects are burned to protect the wood from weathering and subsequently fixed to get a patina look as long as possible. This gives each object a unique texture.
With controversy making headlines in Europe, institutions in the U.S. take preemptive steps to reconcile riches in their collections.
