NEW YORK – On Tuesday, March 15, starting at 2 pm Eastern time, Jasper52 will conduct a sale of Unique Tribal Art. It will feature a thoughtfully curated 167-lot selection of hand-crafted wooden masks and figures from tribes located around the world. Offerings include a large Hemba ancestor figure; a Dan mask, created by a community in what is now the Ivory Coast; a Bembe initiation mask; a Luba caryatid stool; a Boa Pongdudu warrior mask; a large Basikasingo ancestor figure; a Songye Kifwebe mask; a large Metoko figure; a large Ngbaka anthropomorphic face mask decorated with scarification markings; a classical Luba female cult figure statue; a Lwalu mask with its face completely covered with copper; a large Azande mask; a Shi plank mask, representing the primordial ancestor; a fearsome Salampasu warrior mask with a bulging forehead and two rows of pointy teeth; a Goma initiation mask; a Lilwa society mask; and a Zimba fetish figure. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
First is a wooden Luba caryatid stool or seat, measuring slightly more than 17in tall and estimated at $3,500-$4,000. The Luba dwell in the south-central region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and, according to the lot notes, “Their caryatid seats, their cup holders, chiefs’ sticks, arrow holders, adzes and ancestral statues are very famous and among the most valued objects in African Art.”
Equally compelling is a Pongdudu warrior mask created by the Boa people, a community in the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The mask measures just short of a foot tall and is estimated at $1,500-$2,000. The lot notes state, “According to most authors, these masks were worn by the bravest warriors, giving them an image of invulnerability.”
The third and final highlight is another work by the Luba, a classical female cult figure, shown standing in full. It measures almost 13 inches and is described as having “a very pretty face … a piece that exudes great serenity.” It carries an estimate of $1,500-$2,000.
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