Tribal Art Sale at Lempertz

On January 27, Lempertz in Brussels will offer an unusually large number of lots in its winter sale, the particular strength of which will be Yoruba material from Nigeria. The most interesting group of pieces from the area comes from the collection of Jacques Vogelzang, one of the founders of the Vereniging Vrienden Etnografica (Friends of Tribal Art Association) in the Netherlands.

View the online catalogue.

Power figure, nkishi  -  Songye, D.R. Congo

Images courtesy of Lempertz

Double Take: African Innovations

Celebrating Africa's continual dynamism and long tradition of artistic creativity, Double Take: African Innovations opens the doors to the Brooklyn Museum's storied African collection with a new, experimental installation that invites surprising and unexpected ways of looking at African art. It suggests universal themes that link seemingly dissimilar works, often across vast distances of time and space, while also presenting them within their own specific context of history and place.

Visit the exhibition's website for more information.

Elephant mask  -  Bamileke, Cameroon Grassfields  -  20th century

Information and image courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum

Balance of Power: A Throne for an African Prince

According to Yoruba oral history, artist Olówè of Ise (about 1870–1938) could sculpt a person’s likeness on the spot—without looking at the wood he was carving. This special exhibition spotlights a single extraordinary work by Olówè: a throne he made for Prince Ilori, heir apparent of the town of Isè in southwestern Nigeria. This exhibition is organized by the Detroit Institute of Arts. On view until March 16th, 2014.

Visit the DIA website.

Image courtesy of the Detroit Institute of Arts

Majestic African Textiles at the Indianapolis Museum of Art

A new exhibition titled Majestic African Textiles, at the Indianapolis Museum of Art through March 2, 2014, presents a spectacular array of royal and prestige cloths, masking and ritual garments, and superbly beaded and embellished objects from across the African continent. Featuring more than sixty pieces drawn from the museum’s extensive permanent collection and augmented with a few major loans, the show highlights a significant and diverse group of richly patterned and elaborately decorated textiles, most of which served as potent symbols of power and wealth.

Visit the exhibition's official website.

Royal tunic  -  Yoruba, Nigeria  -  20th century

Man's trousers  -  Hausa, Nigeria  - 20th century

Hat  -  Yoruba, Nigeria  -  20th century

Images courtesy of the Indianapolis Museum of Art

African and Oceanic Art Sale at Sotheby's

Sotheby's will present a sale of exquisite traditional art and artifacts from West and Central Africa, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Indonesia, and many other geographical regions on June 18th in Paris.  

For more information, view the online catalogue.

Royal bowl  -  Yoruba, Nigeria

Primordial couple  -  Senufo, Côte d'Ivoire

Tatanua mask  -  New Ireland

Figural suspension hook  -  Iatmul, Papua New Guinea

Elephant hide mask  -  Lega, DR Congo

Mask  -  Fang, Gabon

Canoe prow ornament  -  Solomon Islands

Power figure  -  Suku, DR Congo

Images courtesy of Sotheby's

Interplay: Material, Method and Motif in West African Art

On view through October 21 at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa is Interplay: Material, Method, and Motif in West African Art, an exhibition  exploring the dynamic intersections of materials, methods and motifs among the Yoruba, Akan, Bamana, and Cameroon Grasslands cultures. By juxtaposing diverse art forms that share common elements and ideas, Interplay invites viewers to consider the ways in which understanding the relationships between many objects enhances appreciation for each individual object, and increases awareness of the astonishing richness of West African arts. The works on view in the installation have been sourced from the University of Iowa Museum of Art's permanent collection.

Visit the exhibition's official website.

Mud cloth, bogolanfini  -  Bamana, Mali

Information and images courtesy of the Figge Art Museum

Embodying the Sacred in Yoruba Art at Kean University

Embodying the Sacred in Yoruba Art, on view through April 18 at Kean University’s Karl and Helen Burger Gallery, comprises twenty-eight Yoruba masterpieces from Nigeria, Benin, and Togo, all sourced from the collection of the Newark Museum. The pieces in the show, which were produced from the late nineteenth through the twentieth century, highlight the relationship between art and the spiritual world.

Visit the exhibition's official website.

Staff of authority, ipawo ase  -  Nigeria

Crown, ade abetiaja  -  Nigeria, 1970s

Twin figure, ere ibeji  -  Nigeria, 20th century

Sword of authority, ida ase  -  Nigeria, 19th–20th century

Dance vest with Esu figures  -  Nigeria, 19th–20th century

Divination tray, opon ifa  -  Nigeria, first half of 20th century  -  Attributed to Areogun or atelier

Egungun mask  -  Nigeria, 20th century

Information and images courtesy of Kean University and the Newark Museum.

Yoruba Ibeji Twins

Ibeji figures represent deceased twins born to Yoruba mothers, who have the highest rate of twin pregnancies in the world. After a twin's death, this small, wooden effigy figure is fed, bathed, clothed, and offered the same loving care that Yoruba women lavish on living infants and especially surviving twins.

This pair of ibeji, from the Egba clan, present a marvelous example of classic Yoruba art. Darkened with a rich patina and sporting vivid coiffures, their deep tones of brown and blue are heightened by the sparing but effective addition of red beads, providing a gorgeous contrast of elemental hues. Scarifications present on the cheeks, chests, and arms complete the range of detail on these carefully crafted twins, subtly but eloquently evoking living identity and persona.

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