Art of Africa. Fang statue.

Description

Art of Africa. Fang statue.

501

Art of Africa. Fang statue.

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Estim. 20 000 - 30 000 EUR

A Baule Seated Figure Seated figure Baule, Côte d'Ivoire Ohne Sockel / without base Wood. H 49 cm. Provenance: - Center des Sciences Humaines, Abidjan. - 1969: Jean-Louis Rinsoz (1932-1971), Vevey. - Heirs of Jean-Louis Rinsoz, French-speaking Switzerland. Exhibited: Africa 69, Arts de la Côte-d'Ivoire et de l'Afrique occidentale. Vevey (1969). "We can't live without beautiful things" - this statement by a Baule could also have come from the mouth of a Western art lover. Surrounding themselves with attractive objects was as fundamental a concern for the Baule in Côte d'Ivoire as it was for Western collectors of African art. This Baule approach to life was expressed in finely crafted ritual figures as well as in lovingly decorated everyday objects. The classification of the figures called "waka sran" (also "waka-sona") (waka = wood, sran or sona = person, statue, idol) is difficult outside of the social context and in retrospect. In general, a distinction is made between symbolic partners from the "other world" and divination figures, although the boundary between these groups was often blurred. The loving blolo-bla and blolo-bian figures are based on the idea that every Baule has a spiritual partner in the afterlife (blolo = other world), i.e. a wife (bla) or a husband (bian), and must strive to live in the best possible relationship with them. If he does not succeed in this, his partner in the other world will make life difficult for him. The more sacrificial "divination figures" are called asye-usu and are associated with all untamed things of nature. They were used in ritual acts to attract the attention of the bush spirits. These omnipresent beings always had to be appeased, also because they were considered to be extremely capricious and could occasionally take possession of the unwary. Further reading: Vogel, Susan M. (1997). Baule. Yale: University Press. ----------------------------------------------------- Jean-Louis Rinsoz Jean-Louis Rinsoz was born in Vevey in 1932. After completing his schooling, he studied economics at the University of Lausanne (Faculty of Business Administration, HEC) before joining the family business "Rinsoz et Ormond SA" in Vevey, which manufactured tobacco, cigars and cigarettes. Deeply attached to his home region, he was always closely involved in Vevey's social, cultural and industrial activities. In order to diversify the sources of tobacco supply and meet the growing demands of an expanding market, Jean-Louis Rinsoz looked for new production areas. His travels took him first to Maryland (USA) and then, in the mid-1960s, to Côte d'Ivoire. This country was a revelation for him. Everything he was passionate about was there: the nature, the people and their culture! In addition to developing a significant economic partnership with the Ivorian state by setting up several tobacco production centers there, Jean-Louis Rinsoz financed the opening of a number of small schools to provide access to education for the children of this country. He was officially appointed by the Ivorian state as "Honorary Consul of Côte d'Ivoire in Switzerland, based in Vevey" and was even inaugurated as village chief in the Baoulé region. He was equally fascinated by the traditional art of these regions, in its social, aesthetic and religious dimensions. It was in this context that he met the ethnologist and art historian Bohumil Holas, who was then director of the Museum of Civilizations of Côte d'Ivoire in Abidjan. The two men became friends. The confluence of all these factors resulted in the exhibition "Arts de la Côte d'Ivoire. The Treasures of the Abidjan Museum", which was held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Vevey in 1969. Jean-Louis Rinsoz was the chairman of the committee. The moving foreword he wrote for the catalog of this event testifies to his deep attachment to this country. Jean-Louis Rinsoz had applied for Ivorian citizenship. He was never to live to see that day, as he died in a tragic accident in 1971. The African objects from Jean-Louis Rinsoz's personal collection have been in the family ever since and this "treasure from Vevey" is being offered to international collectors of traditional African art for the first time at our auction. CHF 20 000 / 30 000 Weight in grams: 2100 Condition: The condition (wear, eventual cracks, tear, other imperfections and the effects of aging etc. if applicable) of this lot is as visible on the multiple photos we have uploaded for your documentation. Please feel free to contact Hammer Auktionen for all questions you might have regarding this lot ([email protected]). Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a customer

Estim. 2 000 - 4 000 EUR

A Baule figure, "blolo bla" Figure, "blolo bla" Baule, Côte d'Ivoire Mit Sockel / with base Wood, textile. H 35 cm. Provenance: - Center des Sciences Humaines, Abidjan. - 1969: Jean-Louis Rinsoz (1932-1971), Vevey. - Heirs of Jean-Louis Rinsoz, French-speaking Switzerland. Exhibited: Africa 69, Arts de la Côte-d'Ivoire et de l'Afrique occidentale. Vevey (1969). "We can't live without beautiful things" - this statement by a Baule could also have come from the mouth of a Western art lover. Surrounding themselves with attractive objects was as fundamental a concern for the Baule in Côte d'Ivoire as it was for Western collectors of African art. This Baule approach to life was expressed in finely crafted ritual figures as well as in lovingly decorated everyday objects. The classification of the figures called "waka sran" (also "waka-sona") (waka = wood, sran or sona = person, statue, idol) is difficult outside of the social context and in retrospect. In general, a distinction is made between symbolic partners from the "other world" and divination figures, although the boundary between these groups was often blurred. The loving blolo-bla and blolo-bian figures are based on the idea that every Baule has a spiritual partner in the afterlife (blolo = other world), i.e. a wife (bla) or a husband (bian), and must strive to live in the best possible relationship with them. If he does not succeed in this, his partner in the other world will make life difficult for him. The more sacrificial "divination figures" are called asye-usu and are associated with all untamed things of nature. They were used in ritual acts to attract the attention of the bush spirits. These omnipresent beings always had to be appeased, also because they were considered to be extremely capricious and could occasionally take possession of the unwary. Further reading: Vogel, Susan M. (1997). Baule. Yale: University Press. ----------------------------------------------------- Jean-Louis Rinsoz Jean-Louis Rinsoz was born in Vevey in 1932. After completing his schooling, he studied economics at the University of Lausanne (Faculty of Business Administration, HEC) before joining the family business "Rinsoz et Ormond SA" in Vevey, which manufactured tobacco, cigars and cigarettes. Deeply attached to his home region, he was always closely involved in Vevey's social, cultural and industrial activities. In order to diversify the sources of tobacco supply and meet the growing demands of an expanding market, Jean-Louis Rinsoz looked for new production areas. His travels took him first to Maryland (USA) and then, in the mid-1960s, to Côte d'Ivoire. This country was a revelation for him. Everything he was passionate about was there: the nature, the people and their culture! In addition to developing a significant economic partnership with the Ivorian state by setting up several tobacco production centers there, Jean-Louis Rinsoz financed the opening of a number of small schools to provide access to education for the children of this country. He was officially appointed by the Ivorian state as "Honorary Consul of Côte d'Ivoire in Switzerland, based in Vevey" and was even inaugurated as village chief in the Baoulé region. He was equally fascinated by the traditional art of these regions, in its social, aesthetic and religious dimensions. It was in this context that he met the ethnologist and art historian Bohumil Holas, who was then director of the Museum of Civilizations of Côte d'Ivoire in Abidjan. The two men became friends. The confluence of all these factors resulted in the exhibition "Arts de la Côte d'Ivoire. The Treasures of the Abidjan Museum", which was held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Vevey in 1969. Jean-Louis Rinsoz was the chairman of the committee. The moving foreword he wrote for the catalog of this event testifies to his deep attachment to this country. Jean-Louis Rinsoz had applied for Ivorian citizenship. He was never to live to see that day, as he died in a tragic accident in 1971. The African objects from Jean-Louis Rinsoz's personal collection have been in the family ever since and this "treasure from Vevey" is being offered to international collectors of traditional African art for the first time at our auction. CHF 2 000 / 4 000 Weight in grams: 535 Condition: The condition (wear, eventual cracks, tear, other imperfections and the effects of aging etc. if applicable) of this lot is as visible on the multiple photos we have uploaded for your documentation. Please feel free to contact Hammer Auktionen for all questions you might have regarding this lot ([email protected]). Any condition statement given, as a courtes

Estim. 1 000 - 2 000 EUR

A Konso Memorial Figure, "waaga" Konso, Ethiopia Mit Sockel / with base Wood. H 165 cm. Provenance: Gérald Minkoff (1937-2009) and Muriel Olesen (1948-2020), Geneva. The Konso are a people living in south-western Ethiopia (approx. 350,000 people in 2012), whose social cohesion is characterized by an all-pervasive age and generational group system ("gada"), whereby special importance is attached to the cult of ancestors and phalluses. It was a widespread custom for important dignitaries to make or have made such a waaga (also known as waga) portrait statue of themselves during their lifetime. The memorial steles were later erected at their gravesite so that the sitter could continue to be revered as a hero, with the natural weathering giving the sculptures a very special expressiveness. In the same way, the Konso also immortalized the enemies or animals killed by the deceased, and depending on the financial means of the bereaved, a whole scenery of wooden sculptures was created to document the rank and achievements of the deceased. Further reading: Kerchache, Jacques (1988). The art of black Africa. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder Verlag. -------------------------------------------- Gérald Minkoff and Muriel Olesen Muriel Minkoff-Olesen (1948- 2020) completed her training at the School of Design in Geneva. Gérald Minkoff (1937-2009) was a trained anthropologist and biologist. Both achieved fame as artists, and from their meeting in 1967, the emblematic couple of contemporary art became inseparable. The travel-loving Olesen-Minkoff duo explored life like curious nomads, roaming the globe from Africa to Asia, Oceania, America and Patagonia. As artists and experienced collectors of contemporary art, they understandably had a keen sensitivity to the aesthetics and concepts of non-European art. The couple's Geneva apartment, perhaps their most beautiful joint work, thus became a place where the works of close friends such as Daniel Spoerri, Arman and Man Ray, as well as their own photographs, lived together with almost a thousand objects from Africa, Oceania, Asia and South America. CHF 1 000 / 2 000 Weight in grams: 18300 Condition: The condition (any wear, signs of use, tears, any other deterioration and the signs of age, etc.) of this lot can be seen in the photos we have uploaded for your documentation. If you have any questions about this item, please do not hesitate to contact Hammer Auctions ([email protected]). The information regarding the condition of the items provided for the convenience of interested parties is an opinion only and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Hammer Auctions accepts no responsibility for any errors or omissions. In the rare event that the item does not match the description in the catalog, Hammer Auctions is here to help. Buyers may return the lot for a full refund provided they notify Hammer Auctions within 5 days of receiving the lot.

Estim. 12 000 - 17 000 EUR

Life-Size Roman Marble Sleeping Girl from a Sarcophagus Lid. 2nd century A.D. Modelled in the half-round, nude with eyelids half-closed in sleep; a drapery partly covering the head and wrapping around the lower body under the hips; the hairstyle similar to those of the Antonine Dynasty, the peaceful face supported by the hands and the ear pierced to accept an earring; iron reinforcing rod to the feet and the right arm's armilla a later replacement; upper head restored in Parian marble. Cf. a similar statue of a sleeping girl in Galleria Borghese, Rome, inv.no.XIV, 140-160 A.D. in Moreno, P., Stefani, Ch., Galleria Borghese, Milano, 2000, p.38, n.6a. 104 kg, 110 cm long (120 kg, 117 cm including stand) (43 1/4 in. (46 in.)). The girl shows exotic features, evocative of Roman North Africa, where a mixed population Romano-Berber lived in one of the most rich provinces of the Empire. However, the hairstyle refers to those of the Antonine Dynasty, such as the portraits of the Empress Faustina the Elder. It represents probably a sarcophagus lid of a young noble girl, commissioned by her loving parents. Some restorations, today still visible, were done in ancient times: an iron rod at the feet for reinforcement, the armilla on the right arm sculpted at a later stage, the hole in the ear for the insertion of a lost metal or glass earring, the upper part of the head restored in antique with a portion of Parian marble. The sculpture is a Roman work, but it was inspired by a Hellenistic model, probably from Pergamon. Acquired from G. Rihani, 1987. English private collection. Accompanied by a copy of the purchase invoice, 2 July 1987. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12231-218595 [A video of this lot is available to view on Timeline Auctions Website]

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