r/AfricanArt

Handmade drum with goat skin top
Made with what appears to be a hollowed out tree trunk goat skin with hair still intact made with wooden pegs/wooden nails to hold the high down and the handmade twine for the handle also has been held down by wooden pegs or nails made from wood
The paint appears to be charcoal as it rubs off on your fingers when you touch it
The hide has a sweet smell like a honey or a tree sap likely a sap or honey style of glue or the age of the hide
No makers mark on it anywhere
Found it at a shop in Australia secondhand shop
Most likely West Africa?
Early 90s possibly earlier?

I made this using wood reclaimed wood fused together, then hand carved and finished with fire to reveal this beautiful charred black texture on the surface.

Inspired by the vibrant city, the painting is titled Nairobi, for she wears the different colours of the eye of Kenya which change at night. She carries the skyline of the city on her lashes, and she represents the balance between nature and development. I painted her hair to look like my little sisters so that when she looks at the canvas she can be proud.

Inherited it from my grandmother, would ask her where it’s from but she has dementia 😅

Hi everyone,
I am based in Sweden and I’m trying to research an African wooden mask that has been in my family’s possession.
The mask measures approximately 33 cm high × 21 cm wide. It is carved from wood, with a light/white pigment on the front and a hollowed reverse. There are several attachment holes around the edges.
The family history is as follows: my grandmother received the mask from her Danish friend Thorkild, who is now very elderly. According to my grandmother, Thorkild acquired it from, or was given it by, a collector in Denmark after that collector had died. She specifically remembers Copenhagen being mentioned and that the mask is from the DR of Congo. She also remembers being told that the mask may date from around the 1920s, but there is no written documentation, so I am treating that as oral family history rather than confirmed fact.
From my own research, it seems to share some features with Lega / Bwami masks from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, possibly related to the idimu / larger Bwami mask tradition, rather than a small lukwakongo maskette. However, I am not an expert and would be very grateful for more informed opinions.
I am mainly looking for help with:
Possible attribution: Lega/Bwami, Kongo region, or something else?
Approximate age: could it plausibly be early 20th century, or is it more likely later?
Any other comparable examples I should look at?
General thoughts on whether this is worth pursuing with a specialist tribal/ethnographic art expert.
Thank you for any help!

So I've put together this post of everything I've found clearing out that may be African art stuff. There may be more but I haven't finished sifting through the house and the person was a hoarder. The last two photos are of items made from bone, I'm not sure where they're from at all, but I'm fairly sure they're using bone. Thanks again.

I have been going through a loved one’s estate for a sale and have no idea what the worth of this piece may be. I just can’t find anything that’s comparable and am unsure if it is an antique or something that is common/newer. There are no markers indicating a maker/year anywhere apparent to me. Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time!

Title: Beauty from ashes
Inspired by the Bible verse Isaiah 61:3 “
... to bestow on them a crown of beauty from ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”
This painting speaks to you who has been burnt but rose from ashes for God restores what was lost and bestows your crown. Don’t ever feel like your beyond help setting the flames to your own demise, you’re seen, you are loved and we reclaim the ashes to make something beautiful 🫶

Medium: Acrylic and copper foil on cotton

Just trying to make a point that not everything needs to be old to be valuable, beautifil or even traditional. Shating a life size Benim bronze Head that I own that's obviously not an original Ifé kingdom bronze. It's recente, but made by Benim's bronze sculptors guild. I imagine If this was an ocidental piece, representing a white Man, I'm pretty sure It would be sold for a higher price than I paid even If It was made yesterday, Just because of the artistic quality, don't you think?

Honestly, I have no idea if it’s African, American, or Asian, but it feels very old.

It's 13x12cm and weighs around 250 grams

I've added of 4 different pieces here but there are a fair few others. Honestly I didn't know if it's better to do a series of posts with a few in each post or just put everything in one. I feel like that could be confusing/a bit much though - but maybe it's better for the sub that way? Some of them have tags from a shop in Spain that claims to sell authentic African Art, but I'm not sure that excludes them from just being decorationel pieces made for the European market. I have no idea if everything was bought from the same shop or not. We live in france but the person we inherited them from has travelled extensively.

If you want photos of other angles/more details let me know.

Badman System, dedicated to the global phenomenon of the oppressive system of inhumane capitalism and violence against the oppressed ("Babylon"). At the same time, it is a tribute to the deceased reggae singer Terry Lynn, who released the original version of the song "System" on the "Kingstonlogic 2.0" compilation, of which this is a tribute. The song became a hit thanks to the game "Sleeping Dogs", an advanced GTA clone, an open world game set in Hong Kong and the Triad era. There is a RealFM radio station in the game that plays hip hop and reggae. The song also promotes young Ghanaian artists, Shotta Mani and Aria Cee.

Hi everyone! I just inherited more artifacts from my grandmother’s adventures in Africa before she passed. Is anyone able to identify what these sculptures are, where they’re from, and their use? I would greatly appreciate it!

Hi everyone,

We have a show called DVD Shop Sessions where we interview local artists weekly. We have a brief interview then the artists give a live performance. If you want to regularly discover new or upcoming Zimbabwean artists please give the show a watch.

It’s called DVD Shop Sessions because it’s filmed in what we believe to be the last remaining DVD Shop in Harare. New episodes drop every Thursday at 3pm (CAT)

Watch here and let me know what you think: https://youtube.com/@nrvnalabs?si=yDWEm61EYx4hKJeX

Bless!

Found in the house of an old neighbour in Holland. Possibly colonial era, given Dutch/Belgian ties to Central Africa.

Unsure of the material, seems like brass/bronze and it's approximately 10-12 cm.

I'm curious of it's origin, culture, value, approximate age and wether it's ceremonialy hand crafted or a tourist piece.

Charcoal drawing of African baby inside Christ outside.

African spirituality believe the ancestors are around us