Fang figure - Figure - Guinea






Holds a postgraduate degree in African studies and 15 years experience in African art.
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Description from the seller
The Fang peoples derive a sense of continuity with their past as well as a communal cohesiveness in the present through an ancestral cult known as bieri. Bieri reliquary figures, such as this 19th century example, embody the qualities that the Fang admire most in people—namely, tranquility, vitality, and the ability to hold opposites in balance. Such wooden figures and heads are placed on top of bark containers that hold the precious relics of important clan ancestors. The carved head or figure mounted on top of the reliquary box guards the sacred contents against the forbidden gaze of women and uninitiated boys. Before being removed from Africa, such works were invariably separated from the relic containers that they originally enhanced.
Provenance:
Paco Diaz Collection, Madrid
Seller's Story
The Fang peoples derive a sense of continuity with their past as well as a communal cohesiveness in the present through an ancestral cult known as bieri. Bieri reliquary figures, such as this 19th century example, embody the qualities that the Fang admire most in people—namely, tranquility, vitality, and the ability to hold opposites in balance. Such wooden figures and heads are placed on top of bark containers that hold the precious relics of important clan ancestors. The carved head or figure mounted on top of the reliquary box guards the sacred contents against the forbidden gaze of women and uninitiated boys. Before being removed from Africa, such works were invariably separated from the relic containers that they originally enhanced.
Provenance:
Paco Diaz Collection, Madrid
