Gallery ILE is delighted to present its Cabinet of Curiosities, inspired by the attire often found in the Vestiaire of Kings and Monarchs at the Royal Court of Dahomey's ancient Kingdom.

Amongst these truly rare finds, a one of a kind "Makpo" or Recade, the royal sceptre specific to the Kings of Dahomey who wore them on the left shoulder. Casted in bronze, it features intricately  carved feathers and is adorned with a mythological Kalao bird's head believed to symbolise the arrival of peace. 

A wooden hair comb, arm bands, paper weights and refined jewellery pieces masterfully carved in Ebony wood, red agate, organic clay and bones. 

There's even a stellar 60 years old ancestral 'Adjito' board game hand carved in Guibourtia Copallife that eerily resembles a baby crocodile. 

We Hope you'll enjoy this highly curated selection of interstellar artefacts and rare collectibles, masterfully crafted by the best master-artisans currently working in Benin. 

Image Credits: Phyllis Galembo

With a career spanning three decades, critically acclaimed visual artist Charly D'Almeida, whose atelier is based in Cotonou, is one of the driving forces furthering the establishment and international radius of contemporary art from Benin, with a following of dedicated collectors across the African continent, Europe at large and The United States. 

Concerned with the perils plaguing our modern society, D'Almeida articulates a body of work that  confronts viewers with notions of materialism, mass consumerism and sustainability. In his creative practice, D’Almeida aspires to transfigure the human experience by way of a visual narrative that is intrinsically dystopian, bold and arresting.

Although formerly trained as a painter, Charly D'Almeida has been perfecting his creed as a sculptural ironsmith in the course of the past 15 years, which today confers him the status of a master. Known for molding uniquely idiosyncratic sculptures, through an ingenious use of scraped metal parts and other recycled components, Charly D’Almeida feverishly repurposes, recomposes and reconstitutes the discarded fragments of our humanity, to create intricate structures that are all together mesmerizing, gleeful yet at times unnerving. 

D'Almeida conceives each work of art as a prayer addressed to Ogun, the emblematic God of Iron & War and the Patron of all Silversmiths, in Benin’s Cosmogony. As if ignited by this divine bolt, metal becomes a means for transmutation, through which the artist reshapes matter itself, ultimately baring apparent the abuse of Mankind upon its environment.  

In essence, Charly D'Almeida's sculptures are the portraits of every day life individuals, encountered on a street corner, in transit at an airport, or at the terrace of a café. They are the constituants of a human race in search of redemption. 

Dominique Zinkpè is one of the preeminent contemporary African artists working today.

Encompassing mediums as diverse as drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, video and installation, Zinkpè's creative corpus is informed by the rich historical and cultural traditions of his native Benin, which the artist transfigures into breathtaking compositions addressing issues on race, religion, sexuality, spirituality, mythology, and the antagonizing forces at play in his own life.

Elaborate, intimate and highly symbolic, the paintings by Dominique Zinkpè possess a riveting surrealist quality. His abstracted multiverse often features sinuous and hybrid anthropomorphic entities, powerful chimeras and mythical beasts engaged in romps of power, disguise and allure that hint at the irony and satire of the human comedy. 

Zinkpè's archetypal visual narrative draws inspiration from the unresolved tensions pervading Benin's colonial past and its journey to sovereignty. In his creative practice, the seminal artist brings forth the conundrums still shaping the interrelationship between catholicism and animism. Confronting the viewer with notions of desire, birth, expectancy or abortion, the fertile colleen frequently appearing throughout Zinkpè's body of work, seem entrenched in maniacal dances evoking the sacred rites which are central to Benin's spiritual ordinance. 

In his practice as a master sculptor, Zinkpè pays an earth shattering homage to the cult of IBÉJÌ, which is centred around the divine veneration of twins, considered to be sacred blessings in Yorúbà tradition. Composed of myriads of small Ìbejì statuettes, carefully hand carved from timber, or casted in bronze, Zinkpè's otherworldly totemic sculptures are adorned with shimmering pigmentations that emulate nature’s inherent ethereality. 

 All together a pioneer, an iconoclast and a visionary, Dominique Zinkpè creates modern masterpieces that are anchored at the core of the 21st century cultural zeitgeist. His oeuvre is the stellar epitome of a contemporary African creation that alleviates borders and sublimates our inherent humanity. 

Zinkpè's outstanding career has been heralded by continued international critical acclaimed. In 2002, the artist won the UEMOA Prize at the Dakar Biennale for his installation Malgré Tout! Works by Dominique Zinkpè have been exhibited by preeminent institutions the likes of Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna, and Museum Fur Moderne Kunst (MMK) in Frankfurt.

His work can be found in prestigious public and private collections, including Foundation Zinsou (Benin), Foundation Blachère (France), Zeitz MOCAA (South Africa) and Sindika Dokolo Collection (Angola).

International Fairs participations include 1-54 in London, Marrakech and New York; Art X Lagos; AKAA in Paris; Prizm Art, as well as Untitled Art in Miami and Expo Chicago in collaboration with Southern Guild. In 2023 Zinkpè has a Special Mention as one of the finalists of the LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize.

Today the seminal artist continues to commands an impressive following amongst elite international collectors, the world over.

For Elon-M Tossou, art is a gateway to spirituality. This realisation, manifested at a young age, has determined his holistic creative vocation.

As a native of Oumako, Elon's ancestry is rooted in Hulagan, otherwise known as Grand Popo, Benin's high place of traditional religious practices.

Infused with wisdom and whimsy, the mysterious compositions of Elon-M Tossou, investigate notions of race, gender, identity, human existence, death, and the afterlife.

In his creative practice, Tossou invites the viewer on a holistic journey reconnecting man with nature, yet daring to confront traditional archetypes with hybrid notions of dystopia, intellectual cross-pollination and applied sciences.

The prevailing role women play in West African society remains a subject matter pervading Tossou's body of work.

Read the full artist biography HERE

Our state-of-the-art E-commerce offers seasoned collectors and dedicated art lovers the opportunity to explore new ways of collecting contemporary African fine art & design.

We advocate a lifestyle that is not just beautiful and luxurious, but deeply connected to nature, culture, community, tradition and history.

Our iconic fine art pieces and rare collectibles are handcrafted in Benin by the trailblazing  trans-disciplinary artists and master-craftsmen originating from Benin, West Africa and its Diaspora worldwide. 

Every work of art is unique, authentic and certified.

Please contact us for more information

Gérard Quenum is a world renowned visual artist , who is considered to be one of the founding fathers of West African abstract figuration. A movement of which he has been at the forefront for the past two decades.

Quenum, whose practice is based in Porto-Novo (Benin), is a modest and quiet gentleman. Yet, works by the modern master frequently hauls front stage at major exhibitions in Paris, London and New York. 

Equally mesmerising and disconcerting, the minimalistic yet highly energetic canvases by Gérard Quenum, interrogate us on notions of humanism, societal conundrums, grief and the afterlife. 

Featuring chromatically pared down figures evolving within abstracted vacuities, permeated by primary colours, Quenum's paintings operate as a Rorschach test, allowing for the extrapolation of countless potential scenarios unfolding inside the viewer’s own mind. In his practice, the artist strives to materialise the intangible essence of life. By drawing from the deep seated and rich historical traditions of his native land, the seminal artist masterfully peers into the future. 

A luminary, a free thinker and a radical optimist, Gérard Quenum offers us a compelling message of hope and resilience against the sweeping imperialist, colonialist, totalitarianist and racist regimes, and other abusive forms of power, like police brutality and military oppressions, which are still plaguing the history of Mankind, perhaps even more so, in our current day and age. 

Today, Quenum's oeuvre has been permanently incorporated into the preeminent collections of leading cultural institutions the likes of British Museum and Tate Modern in the UK, Stanford University in the US, Museum Afro-Brasil in Brazil, and Wereldmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  

Today, works by the seminal artist is included in numerous esteemed private collections in France, Belgium, England, The Netherlands and The US. 

Gallery ILÉ is proud to unveil its first creative collaboration with the weavers at the Royal Palace of Abomey, located in southern Benin.

Initiated by King Agonglo the 8th - one of the greatest patrons of artisanship in the history of ancient Dahomey, now Benin - the ateliers of Agonglovo - meaning in Fòn language "weaved by the hand at the palace of King Agonglo" - became renowned throughout West Africa for their unparalleled weaving technique, and for ultimately revolutionizing the structural components of the traditional weaving table. 

During his reign (1789 - 1797), King Agonglo helped nurture some of the best master weavers the empire has ever seen. Today, the very descendants of these master weavers continue to perpetuate this legacy inside the same ateliers, located at the heart of the royal palace, a monument now inscribed by UNESCO on the list of Humanity’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. 

Emerging from this symbiotic creative collaboration, ILÉ is thrilled to present a capsule collection of Tote Bags and Scarfs, produced exclusively in organic yarns, using ancestral techniques, and dyed only in natural pigments formulated on site in a completely sustainable and environmentally conscious approach. 

As a Gèlèdé master-artisan, the practice of Kifouli Dossou finds its origins in the cultural ideologies of Fon & Yorùba. linked through history, tradition and language to the Kingdom of Dahomey.The oral tradition of Gèlèdé, one of West Africa’s crown jewels, is inscribed by UNESCO on the List of Humanity’s Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Full biography upon request

The creative practice of Nathanaël Vodouhè (1986, Cotonou, Benin), provides a catharsis to the tragedy of human alienation.

Vodouhè commands a narrative of incomparable poetry, yet it is one that bares apparent some of the moral deviances plaguing the history of mankind. In his compelling sculptural works, the trailblazing visual artist, brings into play polarising emotions such as kindness & cruelty, or dogmatic stances on good vs evil, light vs darkness or intemporality vs finality.

Seemingly interacting in harmony, upon closer look, these emphatic dichotomies denounce in fact, the sins of a modern society trapped in a race against itself, evermore concerned with mass production, the accumulation of material possessions and generating profits, at any cost, even if it means consuming our inherent humanity from the inside out.

As if rising from the magmatic pools of alien volcanos, these totemic entities are the reincarnations of scorched souls. Enthralled in parts, baring ashen cracks and adorned with imperial cloaks of shimmering pigmentations, each ethereal sculpture is hinting at the fuming wounds inflicted by the harshness of a modern world that too often undermines the symbiotic beauty of human interrelations and instead chooses to destroy its environment.

Vodouhè’s modern masterpieces further confront viewers with notions of addiction, endoctrinal mechanisms, mass consumerism and the hypertensions resulting from the exploitation of man upon his own kind.

Encompassing the mediums of painting, sculpture, installation and performance, Voudouhè's body of work is imbued with the history, tradition and spiritual ordinance of his native Benin.

Works by Nathanaël Vodouhè has been showcased in high profiled exhibitions including “Génération Intense” at Lieu-UniK in Abomey and Maison Rouge in Cotonou, Benin, in 2013, “Réciprocité ̈ at Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Art, in Dijon, France, in 2015, “Maison Rouge”, in Cotonou, Benin, “Empreintes”, in La Rochelle, France, Fondation CDG, in Rabbat, Morocco, in 2018, Ce Qui Plaît À l’Âme, at Carrousel de Louvre, in Paris, France, in 2020, “Le Bénin en Majesté” in Nice, France and “Art du Bénin- d’Hier et d’Aujourd’hui”, at Palais Présidentiel de la Marina, in Cotonou, Benin, in 2022, Up On Silvery Hill, at Gallery ILÉ, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in 2023. In 2025, Nathanël Vodouhè was chosen to join the prestigious Art Club of The European Medicines Agency in Amsterdam. 

Works by Nathanaël Vodouhè are part of esteemed private collections in France, Belgium, The Netherlands and the US.

Explore a corpus of works investigating the medium of fine art painting by internationally acclaimed and best emerging visual artists leading the contemporary art scene in Benin, West Africa and its Diaspora worldwide. 

Our focus on the technique, the authenticity and the high quality of the work is uncompromising.

Each unique, authentic and certified work of art has been curated with the greatest care, not just to ignite your acquiring gaze but essentially bring meaning, joy and wonder to your life.  

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Explore a corpus of works investigating the medium of fine art photography, by internationally acclaimed and emerging visual artists leading the 'Nouvelle Vague' of contemporary art in Benin, West Africa and its Diaspora worldwide. 

Our focus on the technique, the authenticity and the high quality of the work is uncompromising.

Each work is uniquely numbered and authenticated by a blue chip holographically sealed certificate, courtesy of the esteemed House of Hahnemühle. 

Our collections are curated with the greatest care, not just to ignite your acquiring gaze but essentially bring meaning, joy and wonder to your life.  

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Within a mere decade, Wabi Dossou (31), has managed to establish himself as one of the rising stars leading the 'Nouvelle Vague' of contemporary art in Benin, West Africa.

Heir to an illustrious family of sculptors, Wabi grew up in the company of a virtuoso. His late father, Amidou Dossou, received the art world's critical acclaim in 1989, at the legendary exhibition 'Magicians of The Earth' which took place at Le Centre Pompidou, in Paris. 

The creed  of The Dossou Family is rooted in the cultural ideologies of Fon & Yorùbá, linked through history and tradition to the Kingdom of Dahomey. Dating back to the mid-18th century, in the sovereign state of Kétou, the Gèlèdé sacred rites are lavish multimedia operas, performed to this day, in the popular genre of the ‘Masquerade’, honouring "Ìyá Nlá", the primordial Orisha spirit and Mother of all creations in Yorùbá cosmology. The oral tradition of Gèlèdé, one of West Africa’s crown jewels, is inscribed by UNESCO on the List of Humanity’s Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Inheritor of both his father's talent and mastery, Wabi still lives and works in Covè, the cradle of Gèlèdé, located in the southeastern part of Benin, halfway between Abomey and Kétou. His legacy is thus part of a secular tradition that appeals to fundamental Yorùbá aesthetic canons, which the artist transfigures with breathtaking innovation. 

Now leading his own practice, Wabi Dossou brings new meaning to the historical tradition of Gèlèdé. Bold, beautiful yet caustic in their wit and humour, his 'Diverted Objects' speak to a form of higher art. Through an ingenious neo expressionist subterfuge, these incomparable hybrid sculptures cross-pollinate the paragons of high fashion, music, pop culture and street art. Each interrogates us on notions of memory preservation, capitalism sustainability and mass-consumerism.

Emancipated from their ritual function, Wabi's ethereal masterpieces are immersed in contemporaneity. Favouring aesthetic to function, each hybrid gem remains nonetheless the carrier of an important message about the rich historical traditions of Benin and a creative legacy that is anchored in the future.