Null Africa. Very beautiful statue of ancestor, guardian of Fang reliquary, Bets…

Description

Africa. Very beautiful statue of ancestor, guardian of Fang reliquary, Betsi-Mvaï. Gabonese Republic. Wood, metal. Among the Fang, spiritual life permeated all ways of thinking and living. If they admitted the existence of a creative divinity and a primordial hero, they expected everything from their own family ancestors: luck, fertility of women, success in hunting and wealth. Precious family relics were kept in sewn bark boxes and guarded by statuettes combining ancestral features and newborn bodies. Ref : Les forêts natales, musée du Quai Branly, 2017. p. 178 - Similar p. 204. Dimensions : Approx. height : 36CM. (Africa, African art, Civilization and ethnic groups).

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Africa. Very beautiful statue of ancestor, guardian of Fang reliquary, Betsi-Mvaï. Gabonese Republic. Wood, metal. Among the Fang, spiritual life permeated all ways of thinking and living. If they admitted the existence of a creative divinity and a primordial hero, they expected everything from their own family ancestors: luck, fertility of women, success in hunting and wealth. Precious family relics were kept in sewn bark boxes and guarded by statuettes combining ancestral features and newborn bodies. Ref : Les forêts natales, musée du Quai Branly, 2017. p. 178 - Similar p. 204. Dimensions : Approx. height : 36CM. (Africa, African art, Civilization and ethnic groups).

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Estim. 4 000 - 6 000 EUR

A MAHONGWE RELIQUARY FIGURE Gabon, Africa H. 33 cm (o.S.) The reliquary figures of the Mahongwe and Kota are witnesses to an ancestor cult that the Catholic missions tried to suppress at an early stage. The reliquary figures were guardians of the coffins containing the bones of the ancestors. The upper part of the figure, which is still preserved, is covered with ornate lamellar decoration in sheet brass. The back is embossed with diamond-shaped ornamentation. The rare Mahongwe and Kota reliquaries found their way into European collections early on and aroused the interest of many artists of the early 20th century due to the strong abstraction of the depiction. From an important Southern German private collection, acquired in the 1980s - Small restoration/fixation in the narrow lower area of the head, where the wooden base was erroded and on the back, where the metal stripes are attached

Estim. 50 000 - 70 000 EUR

Statue, Fang, Gabon Wood Height: 45 cm Provenance: René Marteaux Collection, Belgium Transmitted by descent Sotheby's, London, March 26, 1990, no. 128 Private American collection Richard Vinatier Collection, Avignon (inv. no. 429) Text by Mr Louis Perrois and Mr Bernard De Grunne Fang, one of the mythical jewels of tribal art, the statuary of equatorial Africa, technical skill and a sense of the balanced arrangement of forms, seem to be the prerogative of a few groups and not of the entire Pahouin bloc. They represented the first ancestor of the family line, whose relics are preserved for worship. The Nzaman, like the Betsi from the Ogoué and Okano valleys, are Fang tribes from southern Gabon, very close to the Waï style. The disappearance of the Fang style from the 1930/1940 period, partly due to revealed religions, annihilated the ancestral beliefs of the Fangs and at the same time destroyed all ancient ritual objects, particularly ancestor statues. The Byeri reliquary, a reliquary chest containing bones and skulls, was discreetly installed behind the bed of the head of the family and the siblings. On top of this reliquary, a full-length statue, male or female, but sometimes also a wooden head, protected the relics of the ancestral lineage. The reliquary is a figure that establishes identity and embodies siblings. In short, it is the material representation of an egregore. In esotericism, it's a force that needs to be constantly fed by its members through established and defined rituals; in this sense, it's a form of collective unconscious. Be that as it may, the reliquary, the receptacle of relics - often of a highly deserving family member - embodies the clan itself and maintains, guarantees its unity. The skulls were those of men in the prime of life, not old men, and were considered the life force of individuals. The skulls were then shown to initiates, and the father of the family invoked the ancestors to bring luck, wealth and fertility to the women. Beautiful female reliquary figure with deep interiorization, squinted eyes, straight nose, heart-shaped figure with rounded forehead. Beautiful headdress with three shells and forehead strap, featuring small tapestry nails delimiting each shell and two holes for attaching Touraco feathers, the ears echoing the shape of the shells. The mouth is prognathic, with a few lip plugs. The long, slender body, with separate breasts, is beautifully shaped, with angled arms and hands returning to the belly above the prominent navel, and the trunk bulging out at the navel. Powerful legs, with chunky thighs in a seated position and marked feet, with a hole in the seat for a wooden reliquary. The back features a delineation of the shoulder blades as well as the spine, the whole showing great serenity and elegance. Deep black patina, shiny in places, showing very early use. *(This text takes up some of the writings of Mr. Louis Perrois in his exceptional book "Fan Gabon, ORSTOM 1972", starting with paragraph 11, "Southern fan styles").

Estim. 60 - 80 EUR

AFRICA- GABON Two reliquary guardians in wood and metal Height: 60 and 68 cm

Estim. 200 - 300 EUR

[ART D'AFRIQUE] FANG, Gabon. Eyema Byeri" reliquary guardian statuette depicting a standing figure with half-bent legs. Dark patina. H: 45 cm.

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