Featured Nigerian Brass Figures

The internet identifies these as Ogbani Edan figures, of the Yoruba people.

Do my knowledgeable friends here agree? I know Yoruba arts are widely made for the tourist / international market; is that likely what I have here?

I can't tell what the interior material is, and so I tried to photograph it more. Is this the 'lost wax casting' method?

Thanks for any and all comments!

12" / 30 cm tall

 

I don't know what they r , but they don't look new..

 

Yeah, thanks. In general I'm careful about buying African tribal art, because I find it's hard to resell around here, but I thought these two looked interesting.

 

they are that !
and, someone thought enuf of them to properly display them....
so , there's that as well !!!

 

They're really interesting and as far as age/value,ones from the early 20th century have high asking prices.You're right Pott,we just don't see vintage/antique African art around here enough to get a feel for it.
@Any Jewelry seems to have a very good knowledge of age and patinas.

 

They look right for edan Ogboni, but the castings are rather rough.

The material visible on the inside is probably a core. Unless the casting is intended to be solid, a wax model of the final figure is built over a core, which is made of heat resistant materials such as a combination of clay, sand and straw. The wax model is then covered with a layer of fine clay that will pick up the detail, followed by more layers of heavier clay mixtures. Small pins may be inserted through the layers into the core to hold it in place. The mold is allowed to dry, and then it is heated to melt the wax, which flows out of an opening left for this purpose. The result is a mold with a core suspended in the middle, and a hollow space between the core and the outer shell in the shape of the model, into which molten metal can be poured.

I can't say what the age of this set might be, or if they were made for sale or use. They seem like an odd thing to make for tourists, however, as they are not easy to display.

The size of yours is pretty similar to this pair -

https://agnes.queensu.ca/explore/co...and-female-couple-edan-ogboni-or-edan-osugbo/

 

True. I saw these a while ago; they were more expensive than I wished, but a 50% off sale meant a good deal.

 

Thank you for that clear explanation--- I can actually follow the process you outline here!

And I agree that they'd be an unusual tourist item.

I don't know where the wood base comes from. It's relatively light, such that the whole thing is a bit top-heavy and unstable. The two figures seem deliberately centered on the knot, but I can't say who joined the figures and base, or how long they've been together.

 

Interesting things. Personally Iam not sure that they are antique and not made for the decor trade market (but I don’t have much knowledge) The quality or the casting and finishing looks very poor and rushed.

Very similar: But better quality?

https://www.gallerytribalart.com/figures/ogboni-edan-figures

 

Interesting. Thanks

 

Ditto. So my guess is that they were not made for the Ogboni Society.
No real wear and patinated imo, so not antique.

 

It seems like the strong market for African art is Europe. Not sure why other than proximity and colonial past. I guess that would be enough of a reason though. Maybe there’s more to if. Anyone know?

 

Found this online (Beware,haven't quadruple-checked this factoid yet)-"Picasso's interest in African art was sparked partly by Henri Matisse who showed him a wooden Kongo-Vili figurine. In May or June 1907, Picasso experienced a "revelation" while viewing African art at the ethnographic museum at the Palais du Trocadéro."
PS-I will tell you,one of our family's Great Aunts (rich & 2nd removed) had a room of Tribal Artifacts in her Eureka,CA Victorian manse-most of which were bought before WWI.So these kind of 'Curiosities' were collected by missionaries (half the artifacts in China),international travelers,seaman,artists,etc-way before auction houses got out their knives.

 

I've definitely heard that factoid about Picasso. The angles and perspective and spatial sense so impacted him it led to the birth of cubism.

 

"African Influences in Modern Art"
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/aima/hd_aima.htm

I suspect that the relative lack of interest in the U.S., as reflected in market prices, is another unfortunate legacy of the historical denigration of all things African in this country. There are a number of examples of African American artists and performers who found greater acceptance in Europe than at home.

 

"There are a number of examples of African American artists and performers who found greater acceptance in Europe than at home."
Total Ditto Books.
At 24 James Baldwin "arrived in Paris with only forty dollars in his pocket. He fell in love with the city, not only because of its beauty and culture but also because of the reprieve it provided from the racial and sexual discrimination he experienced in the United States."

 

...The Harlem Renaissance: many Black soldiers who experienced (relative) racial acceptance in Europe returned to prejudice in the American South and, rejecting that, moved to the New York area. That was 100+ years ago.

 

100 years hence and not quite perfect yet.