Ewe venavi couple

Another couple of Vevavi from my not-so-little collection…
Ewe, 18 cm each.
Prov.: Sylvain Pette

Mumuye bird mask

Ecco una maschera che ha creato dibattito tra alcuni autorevoli ed esperti commentatori: forse anche perché essa è priva di una provenienza "sicura", come una importante galleria parigina o belga o una collezione prestigiosa, qualcuno ha detto che è un falso; qualche altro esperto, tra cui uno dei massimi conoscitori dell'arte nigerana nel mondo, ha invece detto che è un oggetto autentico e abbastanza vecchio. Io, personalmente, penso siano nel giusto questi secondi. Ma è chiaro che sono parte interessata in causa.


Here is a mask that has created debate among some authoritative and expert commentators: perhaps also because it lacks a "safe" provenance, such as an important Parisian or Belgian gallery or a prestigious collection, someone said it is a fake; some other expert, including one of the greatest connoisseurs of Nigerian art in the world, has instead said that it is an authentic and quite old object. Personally, I think these seconds are right. But it is clear that I am an interested party.

Mumuye "bird" mask
cm. 45 x 20

Yoruba Owo Ibadan - Ibeji figure

Old and "cubistic" Ibeji from Ibadan (Owo tribe, Yoruba people).
Prov.: Sylvain Pette

Senufo figure

Senufo Madebele figure
21,5 cm
Prov.: Galerie Toguna - Pierre Brennetot (Toulouse - FR)

Losso figure, Koumea area

Another Losso figure in my collection: it's an old 27 cm high statue from Koumea area (according to Pierre Amrouche in his book on Lamba/Losso sculpture already quoted), formerly in Sylvain Pette collection and, before, in Huguenin gallery in Paris.

Here are some other examples of the same type from Amrouche's book and from Yale archive:

The Lamba and Losso area in North Togo (thanks to Thomas Keller's blog)

Bamileke, Elephant Mask, Kuosi Society

Elephant Mask, Kuosi Society, Bamileke Peoples, Cameroon

cm. 113 x 57

Lamba / Losso figures

In 2008 the world of tribal arts was stunned by a little exposition held in the Parcours de Mondes by Pierre Amrouche: a lot of strong and roughly carved figures, some singles and other in couples, recently collected in Africa in an area less known than the "classic" african art zones. There were figures of ancestors, or bush spirits or twin couples from the north of Togo, from two lesser known populations described also by Frobenius at the beginning of '900, the Lamba and the Losso. Few items from that area were in the international museal collections (Berliner Wolkerkunde Museum) and they were completely unknown to the general public of collectors.
According to Amrouche, in the catalogue of the exposition, it's not possible, due to the too close interactions between the two populations, to attribute to Losso or to Lamba alone the items so he choose to call this corpus of objects "Lamba / Losso". He pointed also the fact the corpus itself is splitted into two main styles: one, more common, extremely geometric and stylized and the other more naturalistic.
I had in my collection five single figures and a couple (from the Amrouche exh.) but I've also had the luck to find recently two other examples, one single figure (26, 5 cm) and a couple male-female (29 and 30,5 cm), both very old, with a very dense patina, heavy and hard wood made.

Bibl.: Corps & Décors. Statuaire Lamba et Losso du Togo, 2008, Pierre Amrouche