Silver Hamsa (five), Moroccan protective amulet in the shape of the hand of Fatima, ornated with a bird; 9 x 5cms. Morocco, Essaouira. CE 24 (see Bibliography)

From our African Collection: An Yoruba Maternity Cult Figure from Nigeria, circa 1940. Base 12 x 12", 24" high. he Yoruba people (Yoruba: Ìran Yorùbá) are an ethnic group that inhabits western Africa, mainly the countries of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The Yoruba constitute around 30 million people in Africa. The vast majority of the Yoruba population is from Nigeria, where the Yoruba make up 13.9% of the country's population, making them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa...

Antique African Ebony sculpture of a village woman. Nice carving with good details. Probably early 20th c Size 10.5"

From our African Collection: A Nomoli Figure from Sierra Leone made from Stone. 9" across at base, 24" h. Nomoli figurines are among the earliest works of art from Sierra Leone. The Nomoli figurines and similar stone sculptures are the only known remains of an empire that existed hundreds of years ago in what is Sierra Leone and Liberia today. Nomoli figurines are often associated with the Mende people as they are often buried on Mende land...

From our African Collection: A Senufo Door from the 1960's. 20 x 48" Among the northern Senufo peoples, doors carved in low relief were signs of wealth and social status. In earlier times they were taken as booty in wars between villages. The designs most often refer to divination, bush spirits and sources of power. The central design is adapted from the scarification around a woman's navel, which symbolizes the order of the universe as set out by the Creator...

Exceptional pair of African wood carvings from the Nyamwezi tribes of Central Tanzania, the larger measuring 40 1/2" high, including stand, which is 6" x 6" square and about 1 1/2" high.. Both are carved of heavy dense wood, and the forms slightly vary due to the natural shape of the tree trunk or branch from which they were carved. They have inset white bead eyes, which is typical, especially in early figures. The elongated forms are striking, and they both have slightly bent knees, also typ...

Rare and early Baule figure, made of hardwood with very fine carving. Made by a known carver. H. 32,5 cm. Early 20th century. Lovely age wear and great patina. Provenance: private collection UK.

Two females from the Egba sub group of the Yoruba’s. H. 23 cm. First half of the 20th century. Ex French private collection. Condition: old insect damage and some old repairs to the ears of one of the figures.

Alusi shrine figure. H. 59 cm. First half of the 20th century. Ex Jacques Kerchache (1942 - 2001), ex Christie’s Paris, 29-10-2008, ex galerie Walu Basel, ex Hammer Auktionen. Guy van Rijn archive ao-0093787-001.

Large door lock from a door of a granary. H. 53 cm.  Mid 20th century. Ex French private collection.

Female figurine, with typical flaring coiffe, hands posture, scarifications all over the body and truncated legs. Wood,eroded with age, with remnants of polychrome pigments. Africa, R.D. Congo, Kuba Peoples, Dengese sub-group. Height: 37 cm. Old restoratins, otherwise good condition.

Hardwood and iron. H. 38 cm. Provenance: Robert van der Heijden, Amsterdam, Srdjan Sremac, The Hague.

From our African Collection: A Igbo Pipe Smoker Figure from Southeastern Nigeria. Circa 1940. 9" x 30" h. Extremely rare and in great condition.

Colon figure, Lobi, Burkina Faso. H. 43 cm. Excellent wear and patina. Mid 20th century. Ex Pierre Taliercio, France.

Mid 20th century. H. 60 cm. ex Robert van der Heijden, Amsterdam. ex Srdjan Sremac, The Hague.

Old helmet mask, of typical form, with three faces surmounted by an elaborate coiffe. Wood, with fine age patina. Africa, Sierra Leone, Mende ethnic group. Height: 16 cm. Diameter: 17 cm. The mask is nicely mounted on a custom stand. Obvious signs of use and age, otherwise very good condition.

Antelope mask from the Eastern Pende Peoples. Early to mid 20th century. Excellent age wear and patina. H. 45 cm. Yale archive: ao-0038719-001 Provenance: Coll. Christaens Coll. Joseph Hans, Brussels Mamadou Keita, Amsterdam Danny de Waele, Ghent, Belgium, 1995

Dimensions 57x17x7 cm. Extremely old piece with wonderful agewear and patina. Provenance: -Galerie Maria Wyss, Basel. - Udo und Wally Horstmann, Zug. - Galerie Walu, Zürich. - Hammer Auktionen, Basel Comes with a custom made stand.

From our African Collection: A Mali Bamana Figure on Horse. circa 1900. 12" wide at base, 60" tall. The Bamana Empire (also Bambara Empire or Ségou Empire) was a large West African state based at Ségou, now in Mali. This state was established after the fall of the Mali Empire and the Keita dynasty, as a smaller Bambara Empire founded by other Bambara families related to the Keita clan. It was ruled by the Kulubali or Coulibaly dynasty established c...

Well carved helmet mask of the Bamileke People, Grassland of Cameroon around 1950, former collection of Dr. Heinz Werner Schmitt, Munich/Germany.

Size: 42 cm height. Good condition with great patina and some scrapes and scratches. Great.

The Bamileke are among the artistic elite of the Cameroon Grasslands area. They are ruled by kings, and many of their masks are for royal festivities. Masks like this one belonged to the regulatory society, (Kwifoyn)...

Ife Benin Bronze Hip Plaque with Warriors and a leopard head. Size H 9" W 7" H 2"

Bateba Phuwe, made by the ‘carver of the long neck’. Mid 20th century. H. 29 cm. Good condition. Literature: Katsouros/Herkenhoff - Anonyme Schnitzer der Lobi.

H. 9 cm. Mid 20th century or a bit older. For a similar spoon see the screenshot of the Van Rijn Archive.

This 11" fetish is carved from a dark ebony colored work and has no paint work. The poultice sacks on the body are in excellent condition. Very beautiful, very desirable.

African, probably Ethiopian teaching board. Extra large 89x39 cm. Heavy wood with black ink Arabic script on both sides. Ex private collection. Can be viewed and collected in central London as excess weight would make shipping expensive.

First half of the 20th century. H. 56 cm. Ex Lucas Ratton, Paris. Ex Jan Kusters, Eindhoven. Ex Srdjan Sremac, The Hague. Custom made stand included.

From our African Collection: A Maasai Woman Wooden Bust, 9" at base & 22" h. The Maasai people originated in South Sudan. Their language, known as Maa, is the southernmost of the Nilotic group, including idioms spoken in Ethiopia and Sudan. They migrated to their current homeland between Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania during the late 17th and early 18th centuries...

Anthropomorphic Lega mask from the Kievu & Maniema region in Eastern Congo. H. 22 cm. First half of the 20th century. Provenance: Hans Petereit, Cologne, Germany Fily Keita, Los Angeles, USA Michel Boulanger, Liège, Belgium Goldfield Auctions, Luxembourg, 27 June 2021, Lot 105. Guy van Rijn archive: ao-0186890-001

From Ibaden, Nigeria this traditional Yoruba cloth was woven by the men of the village. It was worn tied around the waist of the woman, and used as a baby carrier. This piece was brought back from Africa in 1961. Hand loomed of cotton fibers, it has a wonderful soft color and texture. It measures 10" wide and 68" long including fringe.

Gelede mask - Yoruba - Ohori - Benin. H. 25 cm. Mid 20th century. Guy van Rijn archive ao-0110592-001. Ex coll. Ursula Voorhuis (1932-2021).

From our African Collection: a Yoruba Granary Door, circa 1930. 32 x 52" h. Doors of these granaries are often adorned with impressive carvings of animals or people which serve as invocations of deities or spirits, or as symbols of status. The stored grain is considered "safe" when it is guarded by the ancestors whose images are depicted on granary doors. These doors protected the window-like opening into each family's grain storage building, and used a simple sliding door lock...

Stunning Yoruba stool from the collection of Ursula Voorhuis (1932-2021), The Netherlands. Supported by 6 figures: a family with a nursing mother, a man with a goat, a maternity and a man with a walking stick. H. 30 cm, diameter 33 cm. First half of the 20th century. Condition: age cracks, repair to the goat, some missing parts. Overall in good condition with a lovely patina and remains of Reckitt Blue pigments.

Finely carved dance crest representing a female bust with an elaborate coiffe. Wood, with glossy dark-brown patina. Africa, Nigeria, Idoma Peoples. Height: 11 1/8" (28,2 cm). The piece is nicely mounted on a custom bronze stand. Old insect infestation (no danger), otherwise very good condition. Ex. old French collection.

Important mask of the "kiwoyo muyombo" type, of elongated shape, with a protruding forehead and fine features, surmounted by a highly stylized cylindrical coiffe, and a long "beard" decorated in relief with bicolored lozenges and framed by weaved bamboo slices. Fine glossy patina. Africa, Gabon, Pende Peoples. Height: 45 cm. The mask is nicely mounted on a custom metal stand. Small losses, otherwise very good condition.

Lovemaking couple, mid 20th century. h. 35,5 cm. Provenance: Alain & Angèle Larem, Switzerland Madeleine and Jean-Jacques Keller (until 1980 Abidjan, later Rheinfelden). Good condition with nice age wear.

Made of brass and iron. H. 26 cm. Provenance: W. Häusler, Thurgau, Switzerland, collected in Nigeria in the 1960’s, Hammer Auktionrn, Basel, Switzerland.