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Sculptural Element from a Reliquary Ensemble: Head. Gabon, Lower Ogooue River valley. Fang peoples, Betsi group. Wood; H. without base: 10 5/8 in. (27 cm). Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950
This work was eventually sold by New York–based dealer Marius de Zayas and acquired by Walter and Louise Arensberg.
Figure from a Reliquary Ensemble: Seated Male Holding Horn, 19th century (before 1913). Southern Cameroon, Lokoundje valley. Fang peoples, Ngumba group. Wood, metal strips; H. 23 5/8 in. (60 cm). Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950
This work was eventually sold by New York–based dealer Marius de Zayas to Walter and Louise Arensberg.
Figure: Male. Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kasongo, between the Lukuga and Kuika Rivers. Kusu or northern Luba peoples. Wood, paint; H. 19 3/4 x W. 8 x D. 8 1/2 in. (H. 50.17 x W. 20.32 x D. 21.59 cm). The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
This work was later sold by New York–based dealer Marius de Zayas to John Quinn.
Seated Female Figure, 19th–early 20th century (before 1913). Nigeria. Ijo peoples. Wood; H.: 33 1/2 in. (85.09 cm). The University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia
This work was eventually sold by New York–based dealer Marius de Zayas.
Figure: Female, 19th–early 20th century (before 1913). Republic of the Congo. Beembe peoples. Wood with glass, white pigment, and animal claw; H. 23 11/16 x W. 5 1/2 x D. 4 1/2 in. (60.2 x 14 x 11.5 cm). The University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia
Mask (Kifwebe), 19th–early 20th century (before 1919). Democratic Republic of the Congo. Songye peoples. Wood, white pigment; 14 3/4 x 9 1/2 in. (37.5 x 24.1 cm). The University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia
This work was later sold through New York–based dealer Marius de Zayas to the University of Pennsylvania Museum.
Prestige Stool (Kipona), late 18th–early 19th century. Democratic Republic of the Congo, Luvua Valley Region. Luba peoples, identified as the Master of the Warua or the Kunda. Wood, glass beads; H. 16 11/16 x W. 9 1/8 x D. 8 7/16 in. (H. 42.4 x W. 23.2 x D. 21.4 cm). The University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia
Female Mboko Bowl Bearer, 19th century. Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lukuga River region. Luba peoples, Middle Lukaga Workshop. Wood, iron; H: 12 5/8 in. (32 cm). The University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia
Mask for Men's Association (probably Bo nun amuin), 19th–early 20th century (before 1912). Côte d'Ivoire. Baule or Lagoon peoples. Wood, paint, and tacks; L. 27 5/8 in. (70.1 cm). The University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia
Charles Vignier (1863–1934), a Symbolist poet turned successful Asian-art dealer, opened his first gallery in Paris in 1904. In 1913, he included a group of African masks and sculptures in an important exhibition of his collection at the prestigious Galerie Levesque in Paris. This display is now recognized as the first exhibition in France to have included African objects as works of art. In 1919 and 1920, he forged a transatlantic collaboration with Marius de Zayas, supplying more than seventy works to New York's African-art market.