Fang Añgokh-Nlô-Byeri ancestor head
€5,500.00
Art and worship of ancestors in Fang country
This Añgokh-Nlô-Byeri ancestor head of Fang origin, Gabon, is quite exceptional.
In African Fang art, we know the famous byeri reliquary guardians in the form of full-bodied figures.
Regional styles emerged as the Fang people occupy a large geographic area.
Each lineage had its byeri guardian watching over the ancestral relics. Its custody was entrusted to the patriarch esa, the oldest man in the family.
The byeri were placed on a bark box serving as a reliquary, containing the bones of an ancestor.
If we often imagine Fang reliquary guardians with a dark and lustrous or even oily patina, there are exceptions to this rule.
Thus, the example here present has a rather dry patina and the neck presents a different state from the head itself.
This is due to the fact that the neck was sunk into the reliquary box while the head protruded from it.
Note also that the eyes have been highlighted by the addition of black wax.
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, see photo.
This is an exceptional and old object from a Belgian private collection. Please contact us for further information.
Shipping fees
01949
Data sheet
- Presumed dating
- Mid XXth century
- Size
- 28 cm (35 cm with support)
- Ethnic group
- Material(s)
- Wood, accessories
- Country
- Origin
- Colonial collection, Spain / J. Pecci Gallery, Belgium
- Stand
- Included
- Condition
- Vintage
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Art and worship of ancestors in Fang country
This Añgokh-Nlô-Byeri ancestor head of Fang origin, Gabon, is quite exceptional.
In African Fang art, we know the famous byeri reliquary guardians in the form of full-bodied figures.
Regional styles emerged as the Fang people occupy a large geographic area.
Each lineage had its byeri guardian watching over the ancestral relics. Its custody was entrusted to the patriarch esa, the oldest man in the family.
The byeri were placed on a bark box serving as a reliquary, containing the bones of an ancestor.
If we often imagine Fang reliquary guardians with a dark and lustrous or even oily patina, there are exceptions to this rule.
Thus, the example here present has a rather dry patina and the neck presents a different state from the head itself.
This is due to the fact that the neck was sunk into the reliquary box while the head protruded from it.
Note also that the eyes have been highlighted by the addition of black wax.
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, see photo.
This is an exceptional and old object from a Belgian private collection. Please contact us for further information.