Rare female Zande figure of the type called Ngia. Usually examples of this model are executed in earthenware, but here a medium dense wood is used. Such figures, collectively known as Yanda, were handled in the context of the secret Mani organization. This cult group sought protection for its members against witchcraft and sorcery and helped them to achieve success in all of their undertakings, more especially the hunt. Typical of this model is the prominent, pending navel.

This proud, standing lady is executed in the classical style employed by the Tabwa around 1900. The smooth hardwood surface shows the traditional body adornment in the shape of scarifications so characteristic of the traditions of the 19th century done in ladder form. The long braided hair falls down in a Tabwa coiffure of old style. This piece carved in dense wood has the restrained look of the classical period.

Although this powerful figure has lost much of its original magical charge, it still has the appearance of a mighty weapon once in the arsenal of a religious specialist. Such fetishes were prepared to defend and attack. They protected the owner against sickness and witchcraft and went on the offensive against evil doers, both natural and super-natural, when asked to do so. This figure dates back to the last quarter of the 19th century and was collected on the Loango Coast. It was part of a large private collection of similar items of Vili origin. Carved in hardwood.

This sculpture stems from the end of the 19th century and is a representative of the old ‘cubistic’ style that was in fashion then. Typical of this way of representing the human form are the angularity and the architectural built-up of the body in blocks. Open spaces and volumes interact in a modern-looking manner. Characteristic Shankadi traits are the cascade hairdo and the lozenge shape of the face.

This superb face mask follows the classical canon of Pende art. It combines all the elements that make up the Pende style of the Central area. Together with a fine patina, it is an excellent example of the sculptural tradition of the Pende from its hay-days around 1930. It represents a young female who knows that she is pretty and plays hard to get. Such masks were danced during all kinds of ceremonies, ranging from ending the circumcision period to funerals and the installment of new chiefs.

This lady belongs to the old tradition of sculpting the founders of the descent groups. She is depicted as chief and priestess. She holds a rattle by which the spirits of the dead are invited to be present so as to listen to the biddings the living convey to them in helping them solve their daily problems and defending them against evil. She is adorned with the scarifications of old and wears her hair in the traditional style of persons of high rank. This carving in hardwood dates back to around 1900 or before.

In the religion of the Songye fetishes were used belonging to three different categories. The rarest and largest pieces belong to the first group and are meant to protect villages. They can measure up to one meter and more. The middle group, to which this piece belongs, holds figures to protect a household. The smallest items were for private use and measure often no more than a few centimeters. This item dates back to the last quarter of the 19th century when pieces were made that show a crown of iron thongs and a face covered with strips of copper and brass.

The Baule believed that every adult person had a spiritual partner in the invisible world that he or she could contact for support and protection. So, in this case, the male figure here was owned and honoured by a married woman who saw this figure as the representative of her husband in the other world. The man represented is presented as a distinguished character with fine features and a noble appearance. Such figures were kept in the private quarters of their owners and treated with much love and care.

The region of the Benue River Province and Central Plateau of Nigeria has produced a number of highly characteristic pieces of sculpture, among which the rare figures of the Tiv. This finely detailed example with its scarifications in the form of cat whiskers at the corners of the mouth stands out as a good specimen of the style. It represents a pregnant woman and will have served in a fertility cult and was possibly placed on an altar.

Ca. 1450-75, probably Nottingham The figure shown with a bosom, symbolising his nurturing role, holding the child's hand and carrying a lily, standing on a low plinth.

16th century The cloaked figure carved in full round, standing on a low plinth, the hands of later date.

16th century A petit point embroidery, showing various figures in a landscape, in a modern gilt frame.

Second half 18th century The vase-shaped reservoir with a dragon-shaped tap and surmounted by a lid in the form of a warrior, decorated with (later) pendant coins, above a back plate with Saint George and the dragon accompanied by a kneeling female figure, above a scallop-shaped basin.

Late 19th/early 20th century Decorated with a bronze eagle flanked by a pair of inkwells, on a vert-de-mer marble base with a recessed receptacle, on paw feet.

Late 19th/early 20th century The vert-de-mer marble body decorated with gilt bronze garlands, acanthus leaves and ram's heads, crowned by an openwork neck with removable lid.

Ca. 1992, London and Berlin The light-pink dress worn by Meryl Streep, the collar trimmed with lace, a long pelerine falling over the shoulders, above a waistband with buttons, above a relatively short skirt. Together with three other historical costumes used in the film, presumably worn by extras in scenes taking place in Chili in the 1920s. The pink dress was worn by Meryl Streep in a scene where her character, Clara del Valle, meets Férula Trueba (played by Glenn Close) in a restaurant in 1946. The costume designer of these pieces, Barbara Baum, won a Bavarian Film Award for Best Costume Design for this film in 1994. 'The House of the Spirits' stars Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Jeremy Irons, Winona Ryder and Antonio Banderas. The film is based on the book of the same name written by Isabel Allende, and tells the story of three generations of a Chilean family during the country's military dictatorship.