Héritage Galerie - Art Africain Traditionnel

Fang Byeri reliquary head - €1,000.00

Art and worship of ancestors in Fang country

This remarkable Fang reliquary head, known as Añgokh-Nlô-Byeri or Nlô Byeri, belongs to one of the most emblematic sculptural traditions of African art from Gabon: works associated with the ancestral Byeri cult.

Among the Fang, the Byeri was closely connected to ancestral memory and the continuity of the lineage. Family relics were preserved in bark containers surmounted by a carved head or figure serving as a reliquary guardian. The Metropolitan Museum of Art preserves several comparable examples of Nlô Byeri, described as ancestral representations associated with such reliquary ensembles.

This Fang wood sculpture is distinguished by a particularly expressive construction: a high, rounded forehead, strongly defined brows, a short geometric nose, projecting lips, and an architectural coiffure rising into a pronounced volume at the top of the head.

The deeply recessed eyes, accentuated with a dark material, intensify the presence of the face. The dark brown surface displays areas of sheen that contrast with the lighter lower section of the neck. This elongated extension was intended to secure the head into the reliquary structure, in keeping with the function of Nlo Byeri sculptures.

Through the strength of its modelling, its frontal presence and the balance of its volumes, this Fang head from Gabon offers a powerful sculptural expression and stands as a striking example of the aesthetic language associated with Byeri reliquary guardians.

This presumably late Fang head shows certain similarities in patina and wear to a copy in the Musée du quai Branly, Paris, ref. 71.1954.67.13.

Fang Ngil mask - €220.00

his Fang Ngil mask from African art is distinguished by its elongated face, narrow almond-shaped eyes, a long nose carved in high relief, and a discreet mouth. Its refined, minimalist volumes and kaolin-whitened patina give it a solemn and contemplative presence. Carved from wood, it reflects the Fang aesthetic’s pursuit of balance and harmony.

Among the Fang, a renowned ethnic group of Gabon, such masks were used during ritual ceremonies, dances, and initiation rites. They served to embody protective spirits, convey social values, and strengthen the connection between the living, the ancestors, and the spiritual world.

Tsogho Mbumba Bwiti reliquary figure - €295.00

Mbumba Bwiti reliquary statues such as this one are ritual artifacts associated with the Tsogho people of Gabon, and perhaps even the Sango or Sangu. These wooden figures, often embellished with copper or brass leaf, as seen in the example presented here, serve as guardians of ancestral relics, particularly bones, preserved in special baskets or boxes.

Their role is to facilitate communication with the ancestors and ensure their protection over the community.

Bwiti is a spiritual practice originating in Gabon, particularly among the Tsogho, Mahongwé, and Fang peoples.
It is an initiation rite centered on the ingestion of iboga, a plant with hallucinogenic properties, allowing initiates to access visions and deep knowledge of their existence and the spiritual world. Bwiti incorporates elements of animism, ancestor worship, and, in some cases, Christianity, reflecting a religious syncretism.

Bwiti ceremonies are led by a spiritual guide, the N'ganga, and include songs, dances, and the use of traditional instruments such as the Ngombi harp. These rituals, often nocturnal and lasting several days, play a central role in social cohesion and the transmission of cultural values within Gabonese communities.

Bwiti mbumba figures are therefore intrinsically linked to these practices, symbolizing the continued presence of ancestors and their benevolent influence on the living. They illustrate the richness of Gabonese ritual art and the importance placed on the link between the material and spiritual worlds.

A reliquary guardian in this style was published in "Tsogho, les Icônes du Bwiti," Paris, B. Dulon.

Kwele mask - €280.00

A prestigious Kwele mask from Africa depicting an antelope with erect horns that curve inward, likely related to the kob.

These masks were made by the Bakwele, a forest people of Central Africa (Gabon), and were used in agricultural rituals celebrating the end of the rainy season, when animals approached cultivated areas.

Unlike other variations where the horns project forward, these are carved in the same plane as the face, reinforcing the figure's frontality and power.

The mask was used in ritual ceremonies associated with hunting and sacred banquets, during which the spirit of the antelope was invoked through dance.

Fang Angokh-Nlo Byeri head - SOLD OUT - €0.00

The Fang practiced until the first half of the 20th century a cult to family ancestors known as Byeri. Its plastic expressions are symbolic representations of the deceased in the form of eyema byeri statuettes meaning "the image of byeri", but also of single heads.

The piece shown here is one of those long-necked heads that were called angokh-nlô-byeri, literally meaning "the whole head of the ancestor."
In museums and private Western collections, heads alone are much rarer than full-length statues and often of a remarkable quality of finish; some, including this one, are unmistakably masterpieces.
If the statues ostentatiously represent a sexed ancestor (man or woman), the heads alone, on the other hand, are obviously less identifiable in this respect - hairstyles with braids or with cups (nlô-ô-ngo) can be worn indifferently by men. or women.

Unlike the statues representing an entire body which were revealed during initiation rites, the angokh-nlô-byeri heads remained carefully hidden in the lineage chief's room, at the back of his hut. They were regularly coated with palm oil and ba powder (a mixture of oil and pulverized padauk wood, this red coating being, like the parrot feathers of the same color which adorned them, the sign of the sacred).

This Fang head has a lustrous and oily patina that is entirely consistent with the aforementioned custom of coating it with palm oil.