Timbuktu to Kathmandu Unique Jewellery and Artefacts Australia » African Figures

Zaire/ Kuba Figure IN0064

timbuktu — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:45:35 +0000

Zaire/ Kuba tribe figure with Kuba style decoration on main body. This male figure has some similarities with Songe and Luba tribe figures. The figure is holding a large Kuba cloth which has become a part of his body. The figure is visible from the rear but the most intriguing angle is from the front.

Height 34 cm

Width 12 cm

Weight 516 grams

Lega Figure IN0065

timbuktu — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:54:55 +0000

Very primative small Lega tribe carving. Typicaly in Lega style the figure has been reduced to the essentials, there being no arms and the body is a simple bi-cone shape. The face is slightly asymetric. Wood and white ash.

Height 29 cm

Width 7 cm

weight 192 grams

Baule figure IN0134

timbuktu — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:52:02 +0000

Baule tribe ritual figure from Cote’dÍvoire (Ivory Coast, West Africa) Wood.

This is an old (circa 35 years) and beautifuly carved Baule tribe ritual figure. The figure is seated on a traditional stool is male in gender and the carver has detailed clan scarification into the surface of the figure, front sides and back. It’s heavy and carved from hard wood which indicates that it is an original peice carved for a tribal member.

Height 66.0 cm

Depth 17.0 cm

width 14.0 cm

Baule tribe ritual figure IN0126

timbuktu — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 03:49:46 +0000

A lovely traditionally stylised Baule tribe ritual figure in wood. Carved from hard wood and roughly 35 to 40 years old from the Ivory Coast West Africa. Collected by us in th 1990s and never been on display in our gallery. Gender male. The face is particularly beautiful with cowrie shell eyes and scarifications either side of the mouth. This is now in the category of a collector’s item, It’s genuine and in excellent condition.

weight 1.2 kg

Height 45.0 cm

Width 8.0 cm

Ashante fertility doll IN0129

timbuktu — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:19:22 +0000

Ashanti fertility doll in wood, decorated with old glass beads. Carved by members of the Ashanti tribe in Ghana West Africa. This is a contemporary carving collected by us in Ghana about ten years ago. The figure is provided to young Ashanti women as a fertility fetish or symbol. It’s often put under the mattress to promote fertility. The figure itself symbolises the Ghanaian ideal of beauty, a big round face and long thin neck. They are in many ways a symbol of Africa. Their image is used widely throughout West Africa.

Height 35.0 cm

Width 14.0 cm

Weight approximately 250 grams

Ashanti fertility doll IN0130

timbuktu — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:22:40 +0000

Height 38.0 cm

Width 14.0 cm

Weight approximately 250 grams

Luba figure Congo IN0127

timbuktu — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:38:53 +0000

Small Luba tribe wood figure from the Congo, Central Africa. Considered a prestige object the figure often has exaggerated coiffure and anthropomorphic features. The facial details are stylised in a Central African way with cowrie shell eyes and wide mouth . This is a typical example of Luba carving. Luba tend to carve small figures and masks.

Height 28.0 cm

Width 8.0 cm

weight 300 grams

Congo nail fetish IN0124

timbuktu — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 06:54:00 +0000

Congo nail fetish from Central Africa. It’s carved in the shape of a double-headed dog and loaded with pieces of iron. Nails and iron objects are hammered into the figure to stimulate and obtain a spirits protection. This is not a voodoo doll. It’s a fetish used by a believer to quell or neutralise bad spirits. Nail fetishes originate in the Congo and are an integral component of the tribal belief pattern.

Note, This object is made from wood, iron, steel and bone.

Length 50.0 cm

Height 21.0 cm

width 24.0 cm

Weight approx 7kg