Mask - Gabon (No reserve price)

Fang statue from Gabon.

The Fangs, some of whom believe the real ethnonym is Ekang, form a Bantu ethnic group that is today found in Central Africa. The Fang languages come in several dialects and creoles. The name “fan” is not accepted by natives who claim not to call themselves that. Moreover, the spelling fang is contested by the “fang”; all else being equal, the appropriate word would be “m'fan,” commonly used in the expression “m'fan mod,” whose meaning would be close to the word “bëti.” “M'fan mod” means True Man, whereas “Bëti” means the Lords.

Regarding Fang sculptures (heads and statues): these are associated with an ancestral cult named Byéri or Bieri. The word Byéri refers to both the head sculptures and the statues that guarded funeral relics, bones and skulls of important ancestors. These Byéri sculptures were placed on top of bark boxes or wicker baskets containing the human relics. They were consulted before undertaking important actions, such as a long journey, deciding on a battle, the location of a house or village, entering into a marriage, choosing land for crops, attempting to heal an illness, and also to ensure good luck in hunting.