THE TRIBAL ART

The genius of the African artist made material a divine abstract concept, the super being. And he did it with nothing in the middle of nowhere, far from any objective influence, in the heart of swamps and hostile forests, a place that could break the most hardened spirit. “How? Why here and now?” will forever remain unanswered questions.

ART COLLECTOR | SKETCH ARTIST

TSONGA SNUFF CONTAINER

Tsonga, South Africa and Zimbabwe
19th cent.
Hardwood
23 cm

Private collection, United Kingdom
Anna Demina’s Collection, Milan

SHIELD

Mangbetu People
D.R. of the Congo
Late 19th – Early 20th cent
Wood, feathers, basketry, fiber
115 cm

Dominican Missionary Sisters of Namur, around 1937
Didier Claes, Bruxelles
Anna Demina’s Collection, Milan

SPIKE/PEG FIGURE

Congo
19th cent.
Ivory
11 cm

Formerly in Umberto Giacomelli’s collection, Italy. Received as a gift from His Eimnence A.Tamba, order of the Saveriani missionary, in a Kivu village in Lega territory circa 1970
Anna Demina Collection, Milan

LEGA FIGURE

Congo
Late 19th cent.

It was collected by Fernand-Francois Juve, a French territorial administrator in the Pangi region, between 1953-1960. Transmitted by descent.

PECTORAL / PENDANT

Ivory Coast
19-20th cent
Gold
10 cm

7 July 2021, Sotheby’s 

PECTORAL / PENDANT

Ivory Coast
19-20th cent
Gold
10 cm

7 July 2021, Sotheby’s 

BAULE PIN

Ivory Coast
19-20th cent
Wood & Gold
14 cm

C.H. Pirat, On the Trail of the Elephant… and that of Abu Ballas. The use of headrests in Africa, from prehistory to present, Rimedia editions, 2021, p. 204.