Parcours Des Mondes 2018
Faces of Humanity
Jo De Buck – Tribal Arts Preview catalog for Parcours Des Mondes 2018
Exhibition at French Arts Factory, 19 rue de Seine, 75006 Paris Contact: +33 1 77 13 27 31 Exposition a French Arts Factory, 19 rue de Seine, 75006 Paris Contact: +33 1 77 13 27 31 Tuesday 11 until 16 september 2018 • Opening Tuesday 11 September from 3pm until 9pm • Wednesday until Saturday from 11am until 7pm • On Sunday from 11am until 6pm
Du mardi 11 au dimanche 16 septembre 2018 • Vernissage mardi 12 septembre de 15h à 21h • Du mercredi au samedi de 11h à 19h • Dimanche 17 septembre, fermeture à 18h
“Since the beginning of time men has made images of themselves. At first, they were simple
abstract figures, though later on through evolution they became more specified and detailed. The faces of these early artworks were very idealized and they were portraits of the artist’s beliefs, social structures and myth's. Almost every culture has its distinctive approach of representing its own human image. It is very interesting to study these differences, but it's even more fascinating to search for what they have in common.” - Jo De Buck –
Jo De Buck – Tribal Arts
World Arts Antiques - WAA Address: 43, Rue des Minimes, 1000 Brussels, Belgium Websites: http://www.jodebuck.com http://www.worldartsauctions.com Mail: jdbtribalarts@gmail.com Mobile: +32 475 84 17 29
Nok Female Head Nok head fragments were once part of entire bodies and are the most renowned objects within the corpus known to date. These objects are so highly varied that it is likely they were modeled individually rather than cast from molds. The heads of Nok terracottas are invariably proportionally large relative to the bodies, and while not enough is known of Nok culture to explain this apparent imbalance, it is interesting to note that a similar emphasis of the head in later African art traditions often signifies respect for intelligence.
Nigeria, 500 BC – 300 AC Terracotta, H. 27 cm
Provenance: Brussels private collection T.L.C. dated by Re.S.Artes
Nok Male Head This particular head with facial hair under the chin (beard) is clearly a portrait of an important male figure. The nostrils of the nose are decorated with nose plugs looking like feathers.
Nigeria, 500 BC – 300 AC Terracotta, H. 23 cm Provenance : French private collection ( Lyon)
Egyptian sarcophagi fregment A Sarcophagus mask from Egypt during the Ptolemiac Kingdom, 320 BC – 30 BC. Cedar wood painted in colour. Large, impressive death mask from the lid of an anthropomorphic wooden sarcophagus. The original colour paint on a chalk background retained around the eyes, flesh painted in light ocher, eyes and eyebrows in black.
Egypt, 100 AC - 400 AC Wood en stucco, H. 26 cm Provenance: Belgium private collection
Guro Mask This masterly carved Guro mask and many of the other masks are representations of the spirit of Gu, the wife of Zamble, a supernatural being, the protector of the human side of the Guro people. These masks were commonly used during the traditional ceremonies such as funerals, animal sacrifices and weddings.
Ivory-Coast, 19th cent. Wood, H. 33,5 cm Provenance: EX. BELLA LINDEN ESTATE, NEW YORK (+/- 1960 )
Guro Heddle Pulley The Guro are famous as weavers and are known for their fine indigo-and-white cotton fabrics. Used on the traditional narrow-band loom, heddle pulleys are functional objects used to ease the movements of the heddles while separating the warp threads and allowing the shuttle to seamlessly pass through the layers of thread. Like many other carved objects used in everyday activities among the Guro, these pulleys were often embellished for the weaver’s delight. Scholars have suggested that the prominent display of pulleys, hanging over the weaver’s loom in the public place, afforded artists their best opportunity to showcase their carving skills, in the hope to attract commissions for figures and masks. This figurative pulley with carved a head demonstrates the efforts put by Baule and Guro artists into beautifying the simplest functional object. Ivory-Coast, Late 19th century Wood and iron, H. 16,5 cm
Provenance: Hendrik Elias collection. Published in ‘Hendrik Elias legacy , archives’ page 53 fig:11
Ibibio Mask The Ibibio people are from southern Nigeria. They are related to the Anaang and Efik peoples. The masks and accoutrements of the Ekpo society make up the greatest works of art in Ibibio society. They are very detailed, and artists are just as likely to capture beauty as they are the hideous forms of evil spirits. A mask from the same hand or workshop has been publushed in “Negerkunst & Negerkünstler” by Himmelheber (1960)
Nigeria, Early 20th century
Wood, H. 23 cm Provenance: Belgium private collection
Dan Passport Mask West African miniature masks, too small to be worn, replicate the forms of masks worn in performance. Like their larger counterparts they are powerful charms, filled with spirit, with potential for good or evil. But while the full-sized masks are made for display in public ceremonies, the passport masks are not performed and are usually hidden from prying eyes. They may be kept in the compound or on a personal shrine. They can be worn on the arm or around the neck as an amulet to protect the owner when he is hunting or making war. They are carried about the person when traveling; hence the term ‘passport’ mask. Another source for the term ‘passport’ may be their use as ‘stepping stones’ at Dan secret society initiations (Liberia/Ivory Coast). Small masks are placed as obstacles on the path leading to the meeting place; aspiring members must pay to have them removed. Mano people, Liberia, Early 20th century Wood, H. 14 cm Provenance: Old French collection Ex. Gallery Bruce Floch, France
Suku Figure The Suku are the neighbours of the Yaka. They call upon a common origin and also share common institutions. These fetish figures were used for treatment of illness and initiation of young men.
Dem. Rep. Of the Congo, Late 19th century Wood, H. 33 cm
Provenance: Hendrik Elias - Gallery Elmar, Belgium Published in “Hendrik Elias’ legacy archieves” by Jo de Buck (2018)
Zombo Fetish The art of the Zombo is influenced by the Yaka, although we recognise the Zombo pieces for their specific introspective facial expression. They are situated on both banks of the River Inkisi in the border land between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola.
Dem. Rep. Of the Congo, Early 20th century Wood, H. 27 cm Provenance: Father Costermans, collected before 1970
Songye “Nkisi� Fetish The Songye made power figures, Nkisi (singular) and Mankishi (plural), to combat witchcraft and sorcery. They were believed to bring good, promote fertility and success, vanquish enemies and protect from evil. Large ones were owned by and served the community. they gained their power not from the carver but from the Nganga, or spiritual leader. Their carving was considered secondary to their power. Often too powerful to touch, they were moved with long sticks.
Dem. Rep. Of the Congo, Early 20th century Wood, palmoil and laether, H. 70 cm
Provenance: Georges Vidal, Paris / Cannes Merton D. Simpson, New York Allan Stone, New York
Dengese Friction Oracle Friction oracles are less commonly used by the Dengese people than with their neigbhours the Kuba people. As with the Kuba these wooden instruments were used to consult the spiritual world by rubbing the flat upper surface with palm oil or coalin.
Dem. Rep. Of the Congo, Late 19th century Wood, 5 x 22,5 cm Provenance: Nicole and John Dintenfass, New York
Kuba “Wongo” Cup One of the important art forms identified with competition between titled court members among the Kuba are the carved palm-wine drinking cups. Because Kuba individuals of high status signaled their largesse by distributing great quantities of palm wine to their friends and affiliates to attract a following, the complexity of such art came under public scrutiny. If, as the myths maintain, the inebriation caused by drinking palm wine led eventually to the formation of the royal line, drinking thus provided the social setting in which office holders were able to play out through art the precariousness of their own positions within this heatedly contested milieu. This particular example is classified by Emile Torday under the “Wongo”, which is a subgroup of the Kuba Kingdom.
Dem. Rep. Of the Congo, Early 20th century Wood, H. 14 cm Provenance: Philippe Laeremans, Brussels
Incense Burner Veracruz A very expressive and large natural coloured pottery censer having the youthful head of a male priest. The bowl-type urn is incorporated behind his head. It stands on a tall cylindrical base with triangular cut-out decoration.
Veracruz, Mexico, 600 AC – 900 AC Terracotta, H. 39 cm Provenance: James. B. Byrnes collection, Los Angeles, 1950s-70s T.L.C. dated
Nepal Mask The cultural heritage of Nepal has many faces, both material and intangible, some of which are barely known in the country itself. Nepali traditional masks from the Tarai, the hills, and mountain regions are one example. They have been recognised for their aesthetic qualities and powerful imagery, just like their African, Oceanic, and Polynesian counterparts. Traditional Nepalese masks communicate a high degree of emotional intensity. These masks are made for shamanic rituals.
Nepal, 19th century Wood, H. 28,5 cm
Provenance: Galerie Alain Bovis, Paris
K - TRIBAL ARTS
MASQUE CHAMANIQUE Népal XIXe siècle Bois H. : 28,5 cm © Jo de Buck Tribal Arts, photo
IE FRENCH ARTS FACTORY _ 19, rue de Seine
Fungus Mask This extraordinary smiling mask has been formed from a large, single Lingzhi fungus. The surface is hard, glossy and dramatically wrinkled. These masks are made by a shaman and are used as house protectors. They were placed inside the house where they darkened with soot through time.
Nepal, Early 20th century Wood, 18 x 26 cm Provenance: Gallery CĂŠcile Kerner, Brussels
Tchouktches Inuït The Chukchi are a Paleo-Siberian people living in the north of the Russian Far East, on the shores of the Arctic Ocean and the Bering sea, where they speak the Chukchi language. Originally, they lived on the north shore of the Sea of Okhotsk. This bone piece was used by archers to protect their arms from the string of the bow. The three faces on this piece probably refer to a family, consisting of the child (above) the mother (middle) and the father (below).
Region de Primorskaya, Anadyr Krai, Peninsule de Tchouktches, Siberia, 200 AC – 400 AC Marine bone, H. 10 cm Provenance: Joe Loux, San Francisco
Bella Coola Mask Bella Coola is a community, in British Columbia, Canada. Bella Coola usually refers to an entire valley. This wooden mask has no holes for wearing. It was probably used as a votive object and it represents a shaman’s face in transformation.
British Columbia, Canada, Late 19th early 20th century Wood, H. 22,5 cm Provenance: Gallery Alain Bovis, Paris Published in “Arte Primitiva Americana” by Harmer Johnson in 1992