Miscellaneous African Tribal Art Objects

Divers Objets d’Art de Tribus Africaines

Sonstige Afrikanische Ethnographische Objekte

Zulu Mat Rack - Mat Holder

Ibhaka - Amabhaxa - Ibhaxa

The Zulu stored sleeping mats called Icansi or Amacansi, in mat racks called Ibhaka or Ibhaxa. Mats were rolled up and placed sideways into the racks for safe keeping and decorative purposes - when not in use.

This mat rack is made of extremely heavy wood and is one of the largest known to us. It is old and highly decorated with geometric shapes that resemble those found on Zulu earplugs called Iziqhaza. A facsimile of an earplug is found at the centre of the top strut, silhouetted by a triangular finial projection to either side.

The symmetry of the graphics continues to the center crisscross planks and down the base of the mat rack.

Contact us for larger resolution images.

Ba Tonka Hut Door

This is the largest carved Ba Tonka door known to us. It measures 58 x 158 cms, or 22 x 62 inches and takes two men to lift.

The Ba Tonka or Batonga live on both sides of Lake Kariba. Their hut doors were traditionally made from a tree which grew along the banks of the Zambezi river. In 1960 the Kariba dam was completed, which at the time made it the largest man made dam ever built. The Batonka were relocated away from the flooding valleys where they had lived and fished for centuries. With them they took their doors. As such, all original doors date prior to 1960, as trees used to make them are submerged. 

The door is ancient and sold with it's custom made 10 mm steel stand. The reddened friction point of its upper attachment point displays patina dating to the first half of the 20th century.

Images shown of other doors circa 1991.

Zulu Carved Panels

Circa 1939 - 1952 - Qwabe Brothers

Ntizenyanga Qwabe KaQomentaba

Qwabe Panel A - Sold as a Pair

Qwabe Panel B - Sold as a Pair

These wooden panels or decorative struts, were inspired from the construction of Zulu mat racks, called Ibhaka or Amabhaxa. They were produced by  Tivenyanga Qwabe, one of three brothers living in the Nongoma or Ceza area. Amabhaxa were often painted, but those made by Tivenyanga were carved in relief, then decorated with pokerwork. (scorched in places with a hot poker).

Qwabe Panel A and B - Sold as a Pair

Tivenyanga Qwabe was born around 1900 and was the youngest of three brothers. All three brothers were carvers. The eldest produced staffs and spoons, while his middle brother made children's toys and sticks. Tivenyanga also made spoons and sticks, but also mat racks or mat holders. His work was exhibited between 1937 and 1959 at Bantu Agricultural shows in Durban. Work as been published and examples are found in both public and private collections. Book titles include: African Art from late 19th-century South-East Africa - Rorke's Drift and Zulu Treasures.

Rorke's Drift - Twenty years of printmaking in South Africa.

The three Qwabe brothers all carved and were most active in the 1940's. It has been suggested by scholars that Azaria Mbatha and John Muafangejo's lino blocks were inspired by Tivenyanga Qwabe's amabhoxa reliefs. 

Coco de Mer - Lodoicea maldivica

Long ago, voyagers in the Indian Ocean chanced upon a large, floating object of mysterious origin. Its suggestive feminine shape launched many a sailor's fantasy. Some believed this was the forbidden fruit that tempted Adam, and somewhere nearby must be the original Garden of Eden...

The exotic seed was discovered on a gigantic female palm tree known as the "Coco De Mer." Like Eve, she too must have an Adam, the male Coco De Mer palm with its giant pollinating appendage.

This lost world is hidden in a cluster of islands called the "Seychelles." The Seychelles lie in the middle of the Indian Ocean between Africa and India. These remote islands conceal an astonishing array of life and are a refuge for strange creatures found nowhere else on Earth.

The virgin forest is a living Jurassic Park of palms. The trees are direct descendants from an age when the dinosaurs roamed and all life grew much bigger. In this age-old forest one palm tree reigns supreme.

The extraordinary Coco De Mer holds the record for the largest leaf, and the biggest seed, (not forgetting fruit, and nut), in the entire plant kingdom. They were so rare, early sailors thought they came from a tree growing beneath the ocean. The mysterious nuts came to be called "Coco De Mer", or as translated from French "Coconut Of  The Sea".

The male Coco De Mer tree boasts an enormous catkin, which can grow to more than five feet in length. This male reproductive organ is so large it supports its own mini-ecosystem. The ripe pollen-laden flowers are a magnet for visitors of all kinds.

No one knows whether it is a creature or the wind that carries pollen to the female Coco De Mer. An old Seychelles legend says the trees consummate their union by swaying together on stormy nights. However it occurs, ...it is the start of something big!

Example B - Coco de Mer  + - 35 cm tall x 30 cm wide…

The female Coco De Mer trees do not bear until they are more than 100 years old. Once it is pollinated, it takes seven years for the nuts to mature. A single nut can weigh in at 40 pounds. (World Record holder is over 36 kilos!).
Too large to be carried away by a bird and too heavy to float, a fertile Coco De Mer seed never left this Eden until humans came. The trees can grow up to a hundred feet tall in the sheltered quiet of this ancient valley.

Stripping away the outer husk reveals the curiously erotic-shaped seed inside. The double lobes of the coconut account for its suggestive appearance. It is simply the biggest and most salacious seed in all of the world, ...and few can look at it without blushing! That's because the 45-pound whopper looks exactly like, well, there is no delicate way to put it....

The Coco de Mer is the most voluptuous and sexy thing created by Mother Nature. You almost feel like finding a little fig leaf to cover it!!!

Click thumb to purchase a book detailing the Coco-de-Mer and other rare plants.