A celebration of feminine strength, fertility, and beauty, this sale features artworks that showcase the powerful influence of women in XNUMXth-century African culture. The works once served important functions surrounding universal themes of social unity, protection, the fertility of the earth, and the natural extension of people. A unique and diverse collection of figures and masks with rare artistry from West and Central Africa. The nine masterpieces bear ancient and distinct provenances, which are further enhanced by their exhibition histories and published literature.
Highlights of the Art of Africa sale include:
The Walschot-Schoffel Kifwebe mask attributed to a Songye Master artist is the finest and most important example of this type of mask to be brought to market. Through the sculptor's use of powerful proportions and waves of graphic lines, the mask creates an optical illusion that can be perceived as hypnotic. Known in Congo as a supernatural being, female masks were linked to lunar rites, appearing on the occasion of the death of a chief and playing a fundamental role in animating benevolent spiritual forces through dance.
For the Songye, white symbolizes beauty, reproductive strength, health, purity, goodness, joy, peace and the attainment of wisdom. The white pigment is made from clay from riverbeds, which is ground up and dried into a powder. The use of white clay from rivers and forests appears to physically activate the female mask, linking its symbolic representation to the sacred ancestral environment. The Kifwebe type of mask is the most iconic in all African art and inspired and compelled 20th century artist and appears prominently in the works of Alexander Calder and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
The two best lots of this one it, including the Walschot-Schoffel Kifwebe mask attributed to a Songye Master artist and the Bamana Ntomo Mask attributed to the Proto-Ségou Master. They are rare works that are fresh to the market and were once in the collection of Jeanne Walschot (1896-1977).
A Bamana Ntomo mask attributed to Master Proto-Ségou is another masterpiece from the sale, which was in the collection of Jeanne Walschot. The Ntomo masks of the Bamana people of Mali are complex mask sculptures that were used during initiation ceremonies. This mask offers a unique combination of a human face with crested horns and boldly incorporates the powerful symbolism of a female figure – in this case, the primeval woman. The crest represents the bountiful field of wheat or stalks of grass while the woman, with her feet and hands joining at the horizon, denotes the fertility of the land and the people. Ntomo's last teaching and other initiation practices – to ensure a state of physical and mental balance necessary for a good life in society.
The Grebo / Kru Mask of Liberia it is another outstanding piece, which had transformative powers and helped stimulate innovative XNUMXth century artists to rethink the representational character of art. This type of mask with bulging tubular eyes and facial features inspired Pablo Picasso to create his radical innovation of cubist guitar sculpture. Only a few Kru masks like this are known, the inclusion of multiple eyes likely signifying the gift of clairvoyance, as such a mask formally embodies and represents the ability to access the unseen.
The Chokwe Ensemble it is made from finely woven fiber and the use of different colors woven into the fabric creates an intricate design. According to Chokwe tradition in Angola, boys were required to be isolated from village life for up to a year. This full size costume was worn during the initiation ceremonies of young Chokwe boys as they graduated into adulthood.
Il Guro Mask Representing Gu reflects the characteristics of the ideal beauty of the Guro in Ivory Coast. In the Guro cultural practice of the last century, the mythical woman, or idealized ancestor, Gu, is described as never leaving the grove alone and always accompanying her husband or her father. Gu is said to protect young wives from any ill will from the family they are married to. Similarly, the Mask of Punu, Okuyi is said to invoke the spirits of the underworld who have incarnated as a beautiful young woman and match some of the highest ideals of feminine charm. These masks are a testament to the grace and power of the Punu women. The white mask, originating from southern Gabon, has become characteristic of African arts since the end of the XNUMXth century. The Okuyi dance, which gave these masks their name, brought the community together for significant events and restored order after a crisis. In juxtaposition with the white Punu mask is the very rare one Blackened Punishment Mask, Ikwara. There are fewer than a known handful of the black type, thought to be surrounded by secrecy. These "masks of the night" were worn during night rituals and represent
Cover image: TO PUNU MASK, OKUYI, GABON, Estimate: $250,000 – $350,000.; A BLACKENED PUNU MASK, IKWARA, GABON, Estimate $250,000 – $350,000.
