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The mask, hammered down at auction for €547,500 (USD $648,000) at a recent Christie's sale in Paris, has become the second most expensive Dan mask ever sold at public auction, second only to another Paul Guillaume provenanced Dan mask, sold at Christie's in 2014 for €721,500 (USD $850,500).

Although not credited in the Christie's catalogue, Entwistle sold this extraordinary 19th century mask not once but twice, initially to the New York collectors, Marc and Denyse Ginzberg, and later to another private American collection. Its provenance reads like a who's who of collecting in the field of African art - Paul Guillaume, Ralph Nash, Hubert Goldet and, of course, the Ginzbergs.

The mask has been widely published and exhibited in countless historic exhibitions, from the Exposition de L'Art indigène des Colonies Françaises et du Congo belge, held at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris in 1923-24 and organized by André Level, to the seminal show Negro Art, held at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1935, organized by James Johnson Sweeney, and for which it was famously captured by Walker Evans in the especially-commissioned study portfolio for the show. More recently, it was displayed in the show Likeness and Beyond, Portraits from Africa and the world, held at The Centre for African Art, New York, and at the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, both in 1990.

The hypnotizing mask is a remarkable achievement in volumetric balance and the artist has managed to counter great expressive force with profound interiority. The downcast eyes convey a meditative gaze that's reiterated in its introspective energy by the median ridge flowing from the top of the forehead through the mid-brow and continued along the nasal ridge.

The arched eyebrows convey an unparalleled level of direct engagement with the viewer and the striking mouth, with its full, sensuous lips is held mid-utterance to capture a moment held between inhalation and exhalation as in the expression of a mantra.

The deangle mask formed a central role in the circumcision camp of Dan culture and was known as a ‘joking or laughing masquerade’ on the basis of its benign, perhaps somewhat feminine, countenance; the role of the deangle masquerader was, fundamentally, to amuse and joke, especially with the women in the village, of whom they request food for the boys secluded in the circumcision camp.[1]

Christian Elwes

I had the good fortune to meet Jean-Paul Barbier early in my career, when he was a valued client, and the greater good fortune to become his friend late in my career, which coincided with some of the last years of his life. For a young dealer in the early 70s Jean-Paul was a figure whose presence could not be ignored: not only was he a passionate collector but he also projected a glamour that has probably never been surpassed in the world of tribal art. He was intelligent and cultured, but also handsome, charming and witty; he was an active buyer but also an adventurer who went into the field himself in search of knowledge as much as art.
 
Our relationship was kickstarted in 1973 by a great Torres Straits mask from Saibai Island, once in the collection of the Melbourne Aquarium in Australia. A fire had decimated the aquarium’s collection of oceanic art and natural history but the mask was miraculously spared and sold off in the aftermath of the conflagration. It was subsequently acquired by an eccentric local collector and gardener in whose hillside shack it slumbered cheek by jowl with a collection of bonsai trees until discovered by my then girlfriend, Bobbie Nochimson, later to become my wife and, following our divorce, my life-long business partner and friend.
 
Jean-Paul knew little about us and was doubtless unimpressed but he immediately recognised the rarity and aesthetic mastery of the mask and had the courage to acquire it for a record price. Motivated as he was as much by intellectual curiosity as by a love of beauty, he always tried to create meaningful dialogues between the objects he owned, at times representative matrices illustrating particular cultures and at others bridging great cultural divides. So it was not surprising that the mask was soon accompanied by a great tortoiseshell mask from Mabuiag Island and a superb Saibai drum, creating a triumvirate of Torres Straits masterpieces.
 
While the passing of years is so often a cause for regret, it does sometimes have the merit of bringing its survivors closer together. So when in the early part of this century our tribal paths intersected again, we found that we had miraculously become part of the same generation. This was the cue for a friendship that deepened over time and was nourished by a shared interest in poetry. Jean-Paul’s knowledge of French poetry is legendary – but he was also extraordinarily well versed in the English canon and we were able to share Shakespeare, Keats and Poe. Shortly before he died, we had planned a poetry weekend at his house in Ramatuelle, Provence, but nature and his declining health decided otherwise. So when the latest volume of his monumental encyclopaedia of 16^th century French poetry arrived on my desk some months after he passed away, I heard his distinctive chuckle: I’m not done yet, it seemed to say.

J’ai eu la chance  de rencontrer Jean Paul Barbier au début de mon activité, alors qu’il était un client précieux, et la chance plus grande encore de devenir son ami plus tard dans ma carrière, ce qui a coïncidé avec les dernières années de sa vie. Pour un jeune marchand au début des années 70, Jean Paul était une figure qu’on ne pouvait ignorer: il n’était pas seulement un collectionneur passionné, mais il émanait aussi de lui un glamour qui n’a probablement jamais été surpassé dans le monde de l’art tribal. Il était intelligent et cultivé, mais également beau, charmant et spirituel ; c’était un acheteur actif mais aussi un aventurier qui allait lui-même sur le terrain, en quête de connaissance autant que d’art.

Le coup d’envoi de notre relation fut donné en 1973 par un superbe masque du Détroit de Torres de l’île de Sabai, qui avait fait partie des collections de l’aquarium de Melbourne en Australie. Un feu avait décimé la collection d’art océanique et d’histoire naturelle de l’aquarium mais le masque avait été miraculeusement épargné et vendu suite à l’incendie. Il fut par la suite acquis par un collectionneur local excentrique qui était également jardinier et dans la cabane duquel, au flanc de la colline, il a sommeillé côte à côte avec une collection de bonsaïs jusqu’à ce qu’il soit découvert par ma petite amie de l’époque, Bobbie Nochimson, qui devait devenir ma femme puis, après notre divorce, ma partenaire de travail et amie pour la vie.

Jean Paul savait peu de choses sur nous et n’était sans doute nullement impressionné – mais il a immédiatement reconnu la rareté et la maîtrise esthétique du masque et a eu le courage de l’acquérir pour un prix record. Motivé comme il l’était par la curiosité intellectuelle autant que par l’amour de la beauté, il a toujours essayé de créer des dialogues signifiants entre les objets qu’il possédait, parfois des matrices représentatives illustrant des cultures particulières et parfois en reliant de grandes divisions culturelles. Il n’est donc pas surprenant que le masque ait rapidement été rejoint par un grand masque en écaille de l’île Mabuiag et un superbe tambour de Saibai, créant un triumvirat de pièces majeures du Détroit de Torres.

Si le passage des ans est si souvent un motif de regret, il a parfois le mérite de rapprocher ceux qui y survivent. Ainsi, lorsque le début de ce siècle vit nos voies tribales se croiser à nouveau, nous constatâmes que nous appartenions désormais par miracle à la même génération. Ce fut le signe d’une amitié qui s’est approfondie au fil du temps et a été nourrie par un intérêt partagé pour la poésie. La connaissance de Jean Paul dans le domaine de la poésie française est légendaire – mais il était également extrêmement compétent dans le canon anglais, et nous avons pu partager Shakespeare, Keats et Poe. Peu de temps avant sa mort, nous avions projeté un week-end dans sa maison de Ramatuelle, en Provence, mais la nature et sa santé déclinante en ont décidé autrement. Ainsi, lorsque le dernier volume de sa monumentale encyclopédie de la poésie française du XVIe  siècle arriva sur mon bureau quelques mois après sa disparition, j’entendis son gloussement caractéristique, qui semblait dire « je n’ai pas encore terminé.

Crédit: Tribal Art magazine. Special Issue #7 Musée Barbier-Mueller. 40 ans de rayonnement.
 

The enigmatic and arresting mask is imposing both in size (114.3 cm) and morphology as its abstract anthropomorphic form allows it to straddle the division between ‘mask’ and ‘figurative sculpture’ - the mask has power of the former and the presence of the latter. Perhaps, then, the best way to describe the ambiguous form is, according to Marla Berns, Shirley and Ralph Shapiro Director of the Fowler Museum at UCLA, as an ‘ambulatory sculpture.’

The mask has been commonly misidentified in the literature as a ‘yoke’ due to its characteristic u-shaped support; however, despite being commonly referred to as a ‘shoulder mask’, it must be worn on top of the head and not on the shoulders. With the various neighbouring traditions of ‘yoke’ masks, such as those of the Mumuye, Kona and Wurkun peoples, the basis of identification becomes dependent on distinguishing visual properties.

The imposing form of the mask, which is sculpted from a single piece of wood, sees a vertical cylinder sculpted with lateral openings of arched form, which allow for the mask to be placed hood-like, one can imagine, on top of the masquerader’s head, which is turned sideways and allows vision through the opening as well.

From the flat top edge of the cylindrical support of the mask emerges a slender cylindrical neck, which, in turn, leads to the striking abstraction of the humanoid head. This large domed feature displays a double arched brow that overhangs close-set ocular features and a short, straight proboscis. At the sides, exaggerated auricular feaatures lend further expressionistic character to the mask.

Nearly all of the masks of this typology were said to have appeared seasonally, especially in conjunction with the annual planting and harvesting of crops, helping to bestow the blessing of agricultural success and community well-being.

The mask has been widely published and was exhibited in the remarkable show Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley, held initially in 2011 at the Fowler Museum, UCLA and subsequently at the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University and at the Musée du quai Branly, Paris. It was also featured in the seminal exhibition Die Kunst von Schwarz-Afrika, held at the Kunsthaus, Zurich, in 1971.

The mask [Acc. No. 2015.445] is currently on display in Gallery 352 of the MET's galleries on Fifth Avenue.

Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

As for the past six years, Entwistle will be exhibiting remarkable historical works of art from Africa, Oceania and the Americas...

In addition, Entwistle will  showcase works from some of the celebrated masters of post-war Japanese art - Hisao Domoto, Toshimitzu Imai and Waichi Tsutaka.

By virtue of the quality and rarity of the artworks on view and the international diversity of its participants, this renowned annual fair is considered the most important fair of its kind in the world. The fair runs from Tuesday 12 to Sunday 17 September, 2017. We look forward to welcoming you to our gallery.

Comme chaque année depuis 2004, la galerie Entwistle est fière d’annoncer sa participation au Parcours des Mondes, le prestigieux salon parisien dédié aux arts d’Afrique, d’Océanie, des Amériques et d’Asie. De par la qualité, la rareté des pièces exposées et la diversité de ses participants venus du monde entier, cet événement annuel de renommée internationale apparaît comme le plus important salon au monde dans ce domaine. C’est donc avec grand plaisir que nous vous accueillerons à la galerie pour cette nouvelle édition. Du mardi 12 au dimanche 17 septembre 2017.

This powerful mask, or sachihongo, was formerly in the collections of Sir Jacob Epstein, London and Carlo Monzino, Lugano, Switzerland before being acquired in 2003 from Entwistle by a private American collection, from whom the MET acquired it in 2016 [Acc. No. 2016.106].  

With its interplay between realism and exaggeration, reflected in the remarkable brow ridge and cheeks, the mask reveals the influence of the neighbouring Chokwe peoples of Angola. According to Alisa LaGamma, this exceptional example is striking for its scale and the dramatic graphic emphasis given to the articulation of essential facial features such as the semi-circular voids that define the eyes and the emphatic series of concentric linear arcs above them.

 

The mask has been widely published and was exhibited in African Aesthetics: The Carlo Monzino Collection at The Center for African Art, New York in 1986; in La Grande Scultura dell'Africa Nera at Forte di Belvedere, Florence in 1989; in the exhibition Le Grand Héritage at the Musée Dapper, Paris in 1992; in the famed exhibition Africa: The Art of a Continent, held initially at the Royal Academy of Arts, London from 1995-1996 and then at Martin Gropius Bar, Berlin in 1996 and also in 1996 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and in the exhibition Africa: Capolavori di un Continente, held at the Galleria d'Art Moderna (GAM), Turin in 2003-2004.

The mask is currently on display in Gallery 352 of the MET's galleries on Fifth Avenue.

Image courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Undoubtedly one of the star attractions at this year's TEFAF art fair in Maastricht, this Roman black marble torso, is a sculptural tour-de-force. Word of its presence at the fair spread rapidly and soon aficionados of classical sculpture, both professional and collectors, swarmed to our stand at the fair to gaze at this masterful and sensitive portrayal of the male physique, probably based on a Hellenistic model (250-200 BC).

The structure of the figure clearly underlies the contrapposto principle, which, conceptually, also included the extremities/limbs: the legs and arms, dynamically speaking, were related diagonally to one another, the left leg – the supporting leg – corresponded to an active, bent right arm, the relaxed right leg – the free leg – by contrast to a hanging left arm.

A clear conception of the original, complete figure can still be gained, at least partially. The figure rests on its left leg, the other loosely crooked; the right foot can only have touched the ground with the toes and ball of the foot. Moving up, the body is represented commensurate with the rules of classical composition; accordingly, the pelvis is positioned at a noticeable angle, and the shoulders represented in an opposing movement.

The determined standing pose of the torso, with its upright animation visually embodies decisiveness along with vigorous muscularity as the body displays no signs of age-related ‘deterioration,’ unlike the comparable figure of an ageing fisherman at the Musée du Louvre in Paris, for a long time incorrectly identified as being a representation of Seneca, the Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman and dramatist.

 

His clothing is characteristic: the exomis – a short tunic that leaves the right shoulder free – was primarily used to render people who did ‘low’ work: craftsmen, farmers, fishermen, herdsmen, and also slaves. From time to time, other areas of representation were included, e.g. the figure of Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths, who was defined in such a way by his function (alluding also to his lowly position among the gods).

The great impact of this extraordinary sculpture is also based on a balanced, cohesive and exciting composition that results from the contrast between a voluminous tunic draped in a lifelike way, and the succinctly posed body parts. The different qualities exhibited by the surfaces, the dull texture of the fur-like material against the highly polished skin, underscores the antagonism between clothes and body, while at the same time it is the black stone that gives the discrepant characterization its impact.

In terms of interpreting the use of black marble, there are, in fact, diverse antique sculptures carved from dark stone that depict black Africans. On the other hand, we cannot ignore the fact that, in the times of the Roman Empire, there were a great many different works, from copies of classical statues through to contemporary portraits, which were realised in dark material (marble, greywacke, basalt). This means that the colour of the material did not eo ipso have any particular relationship to the skin colour of the person represented. Indeed, light marble could also be used to represent a black African – as is true for the famous statue in the National Museum in Naples, though one might well claim a lost coloration in that case.

Entwistle will participate in this dynamic art fair with a selection of artworks highlighting the epitome of achievement in the sculptural traditions of Africa, Oceania and the Americas.

Among the works we will be exhibiting is an exquisite asiε usu seated figure from the Baule peoples of the Ivory Coast [left]. The idealized male figure sits on an elegant stool whose cubistic, faceted form acts as great counter-play against the sensuous and graceful naturalism of the human figure. At the same time, the rigidity of the stool reiterates the meditative immobility of the figure as well as contrasts its natural beauty.

We will also be displaying what is arguably one of the best examples of the iconic war clubs known as u'u from the Marquesas Islands of Polynesia [see below]. Formerly in the collections of James Hooper, Morris Pinto and Hélène and Philippe Leloup, it is a sublime sculpural achievement that evokes, through anthropomorphic and graphic elements, the spiritual force, mana, of the warrior's ancestors thought to be contained within.

This year, Entwistle will also be showcasing works from two of the renowned masters of post-war Japanese art, Hisao Domoto and Toshimitsu Imai. The abstract vitality and chromatic intensity contained within their work function with remarkable synergy alongside the realism and three dimensionality of the tribal masterpieces with which they will share centre-stage. 

We will be showcasing a superb seated asiε usu figure from the Baule peoples of the Cote d'Ivoire [left] as well as a spectacular hei-tiki greenstone pendant from the Maori peoples of New Zealand, formerly in the renowned collection of Harry Beasley.

This year, we will be joined by the Barcelona-based gallerists Mercedes and David Serra, who will bring some remarkable objects to the fair, including an exquisite 19th century kneeling figure from the Yombe peoples of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Pour la quatrième année, la galerie Entwistle participera à 'Paris Tribal', du 5 avril au 8 avril 2017, événement réunissant depuis 2014 les marchands d’Arts premiers du quartier de Saint-Germain.

Pour cette nouvelle édition de Paris Tribal, nous exposerons notamment, parmi une sélection de pièces africaines et océaniennes, une superbe figure assise asiε usu baoulé (Côte d’Ivoire), et un spectaculaire pendentif maori hei-tiki (Nouvelle-Zélande) de la collection Beasley.

A cette occasion, nous sommes heureux d’accueillir au sein de la galerie les marchands barcelonais Mercedes et David Serra, qui présenteront un florilège de pièces parmi lesquelles une statue yombe agenouillée datant du milieu du XIXe siècle.
 

Entwistle is proud to announce that our Benin bronze aquamanile will form part of the exhibition 'A Cidade Global: Lisboa no Rinascimento' (The Global City: Lisbon in the Renaissance) to be held at the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon from 24 February to 9 April, 2017.

It can be argued that the smelting of copper and zinc ores and the casting of brass in West Africa and Benin dates back possibly as early as the 10th century; however, it was contact and trade with the Portuguese beginning in the 15th century that allowed the wealth and development of brass casting to flourish in Benin.

In Benin, the leopard represented the absolute power of the king, or Oba, over human life and order, as reflected in metaphor and artistic tradition. Leopards on the renowned bronze plaques that once lined the pillars and walls of the king's palace; the pendants once worn on the left side of ceremonial robes; and even the traditional slash-mark scarification on men and women - all reflected the presence of the Oba as supreme leader.

While the iconic leopard stood for the king in emblem and aphorism, in real life it was also the king who could exclusively order the hunting and capture of the much-feared animal as well as sacrifice one of its kind in a yearly ceremony to solidify this cultural association. It was for this event that, in preparation for the ritual beheading of the leopard, the Oba's hands were washed with water poured from a bronze aquamanile like the present example.

Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

Among the highlights this year, Entwistle exhibited a remarkable Bamileke caryatid stool from Cameroon; a rare warup drum from the Torres Strait in Melanesia; and an exquisite ceremonial bell with bird element from the Kongo peoples of the Democratic Republic of the Congo [left].

In addition, we presented an extraordinary Roman black-marble torso from the 1st to 2nd century A.D, one of the most acclaimed objects at the fair, and showcased works from some of the celebrated masters of post-war Asian art -  Hisao Domoto, Toshimitsu Imai and Lee Ufan.

Susan Moore has written an article in the Weekend edition of The Financial Times (FT) for 4th/5th March, 2017 commenting on the increase of representation of African art at this celebrated art fair and illustrating our participation in it:

Read FT's coverage of Entwistle at TEFAF 2017.pdf

Additionally, Tribal Art magazine has interviewed Lance Entwistle at TEFAF 2017, where he discusses one of the masterpieces we brought to the fair, a 19th century royal caryatid stool from the Bamileke peoples of Cameroon:

Tribal Art magazine interviews Lance Entwistle at TEFAF 2017





 

The head exhibits all the attributes of the greatest commemorative heads of the Oba, the powerful monarchs of the Kingdom of Edo (now referred to as Benin), and is, in effect, an idealized portrait of a deceased ancestral figure, in this rare typology shown with a long-necked calabash sitting on the crown of the head. The iguneromwon bronze-casting guild, which produced the Oba commemorative heads, worked within the royal compound and exclusively for the Oba. [1]

The only other known comparable example is the renowned ‘Mahin’ head, formerly in the collection of Robin Lehman and now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; its name is derived from the original gift made sometime between 1880 and 1885 by the amapetu (king) of Ugbo-Mahin to Eugen Fischer, a German Lagos-based representative of the Hamburg firm G.L. Gaiser, who had visited Mahin, a vassal state of the Edo Kingdom, several times in order to establish trading relationships and represent German interests.[2] Another roughly cast and aesthetically inferior head exhibiting the same iconography, of evidently later date and archaizing tendency, is in the collection of the Grassi Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig.[3]

Christian Elwes, London, January 2016

The exhibition will examine Africa as the craddle of humanity and as supplier of labour, power, gold and raw materials for millenia and will portray a panorama of the continent at the crossroads of many artistic worlds.

This remarkable and refined bronze bracelet from the Yoruba peoples of Nigeria is a great example of the bronze casting skills of West African artists in the late 15^th and 16^th centuries [1]; its openwork form is a rich tableau of zoomorphic dynamics as various animal forms intertwine in high relief on its surface.

The cylindrical form of the bracelet's surface is encircled by a motif incorporating what would appear to be leopards set into a background of two interwoven sets of parallel lines and three sets of triple spikes (some missing), which encircle the top and bottom. In dramatic fashion, the feline forms are seen biting down on the various mudfish that sit on the surface to face them directly.

The mudfish are rendered in a way that could refer to either Ijebu or Owo, but ceremonial armlets such as these from Owo are in most cases carved in ivory. The openwork conceit appears where the animals and fish twist to face one another: with various limbs intertwinning and contorting, they resist or dominate their opponent in a sort of symbolic battle for supremacy between the renowned symbols of the ruling class among many West African societies.

At the sides of the bracelet are double sets of curving bands that twist and overlap to create an elegant border; at the very edges of the bracelet refined and slightly raised rope forms can be observed.  Testment to its antiquity, true patinae of greenish-brown colour is observed on the surface of the bracelet along with some areas of encrustation.