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ZUBEK GALLERY

The ZUBEK GALLERY specialises in traditional
Arts from sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

10/06/2026

Dogon or Tellem Caryatid (Fragment) / Mali
estim.age: 16th -19th century

H: 42 cm

Provenance:
Privat Collection, Cannes (circa 1950)
Collection Jean Roudillon, Paris
Olivier Larroque, Paris

Fragment of a ceremonial caryatid stool from the Bandiagara region. Two elongated figures with raised arms support the remaining section of the seat – a gesture read as a prayer to the creator god Amma or a plea for rain. The figures represent the Nommo, twin pairs and founding ancestors of humankind, who in Dogon cosmology mediate between sky (seat) and earth (base). The stool was never meant for practical use but served a purely ceremonial purpose.
Hardwood, heavily weathered, with encrusted age patina and traces of ritual handling. The pronounced state of erosion leaves open whether the piece is attributable to the Dogon or already to their predecessors, the Tellem.

06/06/2026

Tsogho/Vuvi – Ancestral Figure, Gabon

The Tsogho/Vuvi are forest peoples of south-central Gabon. Their figures were created in the context of ancestor worship and are characterized by a geometric face and a distinctive kaolin patina. These rare statuettes were used in rituals of the Bwiti society as well as in the ancestor cult mombe. They were kept in the men's house and displayed there during funeral rites or ceremonies for a good harvest.
This female figure is remarkable for its powerful, cubist-geometric body with massive legs. The bold, direct carving gives it an archaic forcefulness and an unmistakable commanding presence.

H: 58 cm

Provenance:
American Private Collection
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 5 November 2016, lot 359
Gerhard & Gisela Hoffmann, Würzburg, Germany

01/06/2026

Chekoua — Butter churn vessel
Baratte à beurre · Jbalà region, north-west Morocco
Early to mid 20th century (or older)

Large ceramic vessel in the characteristic double-gourd form of the traditional Chekoua (Arabic: الشكوة), a vessel type originally fashioned from dried calabash gourds. The vessel was used to produce butter and buttermilk (lben) by suspending it from a wooden tripod and setting it in a rocking motion. Two small loop handles at the shoulder served for attachment with ropes. The funnel neck is painted with geometric signs in blue-black — motifs rooted in Berber tradition that functioned as apotropaic symbols to protect the contents. The coarse, unglazed clay with its uneven fire patina is characteristic of the pottery tradition of the Rif and Jbalà region, practised exclusively by women, in which vessels were fired in the open air without a kiln.

The matte, unglazed surface identifies this piece as an authentic everyday object of rural Berber culture — in contrast to later, glazed variants produced for the market. A scholarly article on the Chekoua appeared as early as 1918 in the "Bulletin de la Société préhistorique de France", underlining the ethnographic significance of this vessel type.

H: 48 cm

Provenance:
Pierre Loos, Brüssel
Nina & Henricus Simonis, Düsseldorf

13/05/2026

Zubek Gallery last Saturday. 🥂 Thank you for coming!

05/05/2026

Am 9. Mai ab 17:00 Uhr gibt es Neuzugänge bei uns zu entdecken – und ein Glas Wein dazu. 🍷

04/05/2026

Hwé Li – Family Post of the Fon People, / Benin
early 20th century

These posts, carved from wood, belong to the spiritual practice of the Fon, the largest ethnic group in Benin, whose belief system – Vodun (known in the West as Voodoo) – closely interweaves ancestor worship, protective magic, and the spirit world. The abstract, anthropomorphic form embodies spiritual force – not likeness, but essence.
The name says it all: Hwé means house, Li means path – the Hwé Li is literally the guardian of the threshold. The shaft was driven into the ground before the front door; the U-shaped crown and the powerful spherical body give this post a commanding, almost monumental presence – even in its fragmentary state. Every inhabitant had to step over the post – whoever entered the house with ill intentions or broken promises would, so the belief goes, be recognized and judged by the Hwé Li.
The deep erosion of the wood bears witness to years of ritual use and great age: offerings and libations kept the connection to the world of the deceased alive. What remains is a fragment – yet one of remarkable sculptural strength.

H: 70 cm

Provenance:
Ann de Pauw & Luc Huysveld, Belgium

02/05/2026

Hwé Li – Family Post of the Fon People, / Benin
early 20th century

These posts, carved from wood, belong to the spiritual practice of the Fon, the largest ethnic group in Benin, whose belief system – Vodun (known in the West as Voodoo) – closely interweaves ancestor worship, protective magic, and the spirit world. The abstract, anthropomorphic form embodies spiritual force – not likeness, but essence.
The name says it all: Hwé means house, Li means path – the Hwé Li is literally the guardian of the threshold. The shaft was driven into the ground before the front door; the V-shaped, upward-reaching crown gives this post a particularly powerful, almost totemic presence. Every inhabitant had to step over the post – whoever entered the house with ill intentions or broken promises would, so the belief goes, be recognized and judged by the Hwé Li.
The deep weathering and erosion of the wood bear witness to years of ritual use and great age: offerings and libations kept the connection to the world of the deceased alive.

H: 110 cm

Provenance:
Ann de Pauw & Luc Huysveld, Belgium

01/05/2026

Hwé Li – Family Post of the Fon People, / Benin
19th- early 20th century

These posts, carved from hardwood, belong to the spiritual practice of the Fon, the largest ethnic group in Benin, whose belief system – Vodun (known in the West as Voodoo) – closely interweaves ancestor worship, protective magic, and the spirit world. The abstract, anthropomorphic form embodies spiritual force – not likeness, but essence.
The name says it all: Hwé means house, Li means path – the Hwé Li is literally the guardian of the threshold. The pointed shaft of iron wood was driven into the ground before the front door; the iron blade at the upper end crowns the object like a watchful head. Every inhabitant had to step over the post – whoever entered the house with ill intentions or broken promises would, so the belief goes, be recognized and judged by the Hwé Li.
The dark patina and the weathering of the so-called "iron wood" bear witness to years of ritual use and great age: offerings and libations kept the connection to the world of the deceased alive.

H: 108 cm

Provenance:
Ann de Pauw & Luc Huysveld, Belgium

26/04/2026

EWE / ADJA Vodun Terracotta
Ghana / Togo / Benin region

Vodun (voodoo) is the ancient West African belief in a magical force that governs our earthly existence. It is a world where clay ritual pots and figures have the power to attract gods, goddesses, ancestors, and spirits. Ceramics and pottery play a significant role in visually expressing Vodun.

This presented terracotta votive figure of the Ewe or Adja peoples depicts a multi-headed deity rising from the coiled body of a serpent. One arm is raised with a large, open hand — a gesture of protection and command against malevolent forces. The tripartite heads suggest the deity's omniscient presence across the worlds of the living, the ancestors, and the spirits.
The encircling serpent at the base places this figure within the Dan/Dangbe tradition, the cosmic snake whose coiled form embodies primordial energy and continuity. Traces of white kaolin on the surface bear witness to sustained ritual use, marking this object as a once-living vessel of spiritual power.

H: 25cm

Provenance:
Privat Collection, The Netherlands

06/04/2026

Our Winter Edition" Catalog is now online: https://bit.ly/4c9nLzE

Adresse

Ulmenstraße 25
Düsseldorf
40476

Öffnungszeiten

Dienstag	13:00 - 19:00
Mittwoch	13:00 - 19:00
Donnerstag	13:00 - 19:00
Freitag	13:00 - 19:00
Samstag	13:00 - 19:00

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