Mask - Gabon (No reserve price)
02
days
06
hours
14
minutes
54
seconds
7 other people are watching this object
 | €4 | |
|---|---|---|
| €3 |
Catawiki Buyer Protection
Your payment’s safe with us until you receive your object.View details
Trustpilot 4.4 | 136342 reviews
Rated Excellent on Trustpilot.
Fang reliquary figure from Gabon, a four-faced wooden Janus sculpture, dating to the mid-20th century, 25 cm high and 10 cm wide, in good condition with age-related wear, and supplied with a certificate of authenticity.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
Ancient African Byeri Fang reliquary, anthropomorphic sculpture with 4 faces, from Gabon.
Total height: 25 cm, including the base.
This Fang sculpture dates from the mid-20th century and comes with a certificate of authenticity.
Great Fang Janus reliquary statuette from Gabon, with four faces.
The Fang ethnic group counts about 900,000 people and forms large village communities spread across a vast area of equatorial Atlantic Africa: Cameroon, mainland Equatorial Guinea, and northern Gabon, on the right bank of the Ogowe River. The Fang used masks and statuettes/figurines in their secret societies, the “bieri,” or ancestral sculptures. They celebrated this figure during sowing, before fishing or hunting. The Fang bieri has the proportions of a newborn, underscoring the continuity of the group with its ancestors and the three classes of society (three faces): the “to be born,” the living, and the dead. This magnificent statuette, presented here, also served for the initiation of young men within their secret societies.
Ancient African Byeri Fang reliquary, anthropomorphic sculpture with 4 faces, from Gabon.
Total height: 25 cm, including the base.
This Fang sculpture dates from the mid-20th century and comes with a certificate of authenticity.
Great Fang Janus reliquary statuette from Gabon, with four faces.
The Fang ethnic group counts about 900,000 people and forms large village communities spread across a vast area of equatorial Atlantic Africa: Cameroon, mainland Equatorial Guinea, and northern Gabon, on the right bank of the Ogowe River. The Fang used masks and statuettes/figurines in their secret societies, the “bieri,” or ancestral sculptures. They celebrated this figure during sowing, before fishing or hunting. The Fang bieri has the proportions of a newborn, underscoring the continuity of the group with its ancestors and the three classes of society (three faces): the “to be born,” the living, and the dead. This magnificent statuette, presented here, also served for the initiation of young men within their secret societies.
Details
Era
After 2000
Number of objects
1
Material
Wood
Country of origin
Gabon
Condition
Good condition - used with small signs of aging & blemishes
Height
25 cm
Width
10 cm
