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Maori, Oceanic & African Art — Dunbar Sloane Ltd.
| Auction House: | Dunbar Sloane Ltd. | Number of lots recorded: | 166 |
| Sale Title: | Maori, Oceanic & African Art | Lots with images: | 166 |
| Auction Location: | Wellington | Prices available: | 138 |
| Date: | 8-Oct-2024 |
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Mali, circa 1960s. Composed of carved wood, metal, fiber and clay. A nkisi or power figure is an object that has been imbued with a revered ancestral spirit by a nganga or healer/diviner. They are invoked to search out wrongdoing, enforce oaths, cure sicknesses and protect households or villages against evil forces. The metal objects commonly pounded into the surface of power figures represent the nkisi's active roles during rituals or ceremonies. Each nail or metal piece represents a vow, a signed treaty,…
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Burkina Faso. Classic butterfly form with intricate geometrical patterns richly coloured with red, black and kaolin pigments. These masks are worn in front of the face and attached with a thick rope which the dancer holds in his mouth. This mask would be worn during agricultural festivals where the dancers would mimic the motion of a butterfly. Just before a rainfall it is said that swarms of butterflies appear. This dance is made in hope the gods will cause rain to fall on the newly Planted field.…
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West Africa. Carved wood with pigments, stylised coiffure, facial cicatrice, and decorated with cowrie shells and bells. The Gelede spectacle of the Yoruba is a public display using colorful masks which combines Art and ritual dance to amuse, educate and inspire worship. Gelede celebrates 'Mothers', a group that includes female ancestors and deities as well as the elderly women of the community, and the power and spiritual capacity these women have in society. Provenance: Private Collection of Michael…
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A Chokwe Mwana Pwo mask from Angola. Finley carved wood mask with dark patina and elaborate plated fiber coiffure extending from the back of the head. Mwana pwo - meaning 'Young woman' - represents the idealized portrait of feminine beauty. Beyond that allegory, this type of mask symbolizes the important position that women occupy in matrilineal Chokwe society. The superbly carved fine facial features display the requisite cruciform scarification to the central forehead typical of mwana pwo masks.…
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A Makonde Lipiko helmet mask from Tanzania. Soft carved wood coloured with yellow/ochre pigment. Displaying pointed teeth through a pierced mouth, black facial markings and human hair. These masks appear in dances that celebrate the conclusion of initiation rituals of adolescent boys in the border region between Mozambique and Tanzania. Provenance: Private Collection of Michael Yoffe height 24 cm, diameter 68 cm
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African leopard mask. Carved wood zoomorphic mask with articulated jaw. Red pigments with pale spots and fibers to the muzzle, brow and eyes. Provenance: Private Collection of Michael Yoffe height 39 cm
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A Kwele mask from Gabon. Carved wood with kaolin pigment. Kwele masks represent the antelope whose flesh was eaten at the end of the 'Beete' ritual. These masks typically have two large horns which sometimes encircle and frame the face. Areas of the face are often painted with white kaolin clay, the color of the spirits. Kwele 'Ekuk' masks are beautifully stylised with a heart shaped face, almond shaped eyes and a small or non-existent mouth. Provenance: Private Collection of Michael Yoffe height 41 cm
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Ivory coast, circa 1960s. Sitting female figure decorated with glass beads. Baule statuary is dominated by elaborate figures carved to symbolize spirit spouses. Baule mythology dictates that every adult, male or female, has such a spouse, manifested through dreams. This dream partner is always described as very beautiful, and she brings her human husband good luck. Provenance: Private Collection of Michael Yoffe height 25 cm
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Ivory coast. Carved wood with rich dark patina, pierced for suspension. This mask is used by the Poro society as initiation rituals for boys, at funerals to lead the spirit of the deceased and at harvest festivals. It is always owned and worn by men. It represents the society ancestors and has features that symbolize feminine beauty and fertility. Provenance: Private Collection of Michael Yoffe height 25 cm
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A wooden headrest from Kenya. With coiled metal handle. Provenance: Private Collection of Michael Yoffe, collected in 1977. Height 17 cm
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A large ceremonial mask from the Dan people of Liberia. Carved wood with dark, red, and kaolin pigments. The face framed by a fabric cushion adorned with cowrie shells and conical metal bells. The Dan people refer to these masks as gle, a term that refers both to the physical mask and the individual spirits the mask is believed to embody during masquerade performances. The wooden gle is accompanied by a full-body costume constructed of raffia, feathers and fur. It is believed that each gle has its own…
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Ivory coast. Carved wood painted with red and black pigments. This mask represents the beautiful woman. In all aspects Gu masks reflects characteristics of ideal beauty amongst the Guro. Her skin is red, which is the color associated with women and hair neatly coiffed as sign that she is cultivated and not part of the natural wild world. Provenance: Private Collection of Michael Yoffe height 38 cm
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Democratic Republic of Congo. Wooden mask representing a bearded male face. With copper alloy, skin, fur, plant fiber, textile, glass beads, cowrie shell, seedpods, and pigments. Provenance: Private Collection of Michael Yoffe. Height 28 cm, diameter 31 cm
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A Baule Heddle pulley. Carved wood tool used on the traditional narrow-band loom. Baule peoples and their neighbours to the West, the Guro, are famous as weavers and are known for their fine indigo-and-white cotton fabrics. This heddle pulley demonstrates the efforts put by Baule carvers into beautifying the simplest functional object. Provenance: Private Collection of Michael Yoffe height 12 cm
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Ivory coast. Carved wood with rich dark patina. Designed as part of a Baule theatrical tradition known as 'Mblo,' that combines dramatic skits and solo dances, this mask is an idealized representation of the prominent member of the community for which it was sculpted. Its lustrous carved surfaces suggest healthy skin set off by a delicately textured coiffure and facial scarifications. Some losses to the inner perimeter. Comes with stand. Height 24 cm
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A reliquary figure from the Kota people of Gabon. Stylised human figure made in wood, copper, and brass mounted on a perspex base. Height 43 cm
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A rare late 19th century female taxidermy huia. Presented in original case and diorama by James Gardner, taxidermist to Queen Victoria. Original taxidermist label affixed verso. Unlike many examples presented for sale this example is in original condition and the wattle is unpainted and left in its natural state. Provenance: George Hartop Elliot Warburton 1898. Passed on by descent. Retained in the same family for 126 years. Case size: height 46 cm, width 40 cm, depth 18 cm
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A pair of Australian carved ostrich eggs Displayed in a glazed case. Carved with emus, kangaroo, and kookaburra on fern mounted s/p stands with an associated inkwell on ebonised base with later glazed kauri display case with hinged lid. Length 47 cm
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