Gabon - Statue - Gabon (No reserve price)

Masque Fang

This Fang mask from Africa recalls the specimen held at the beginning of the 20th century by the painter Maurice Vlaminck, then by André Derain. Of an ovoid shape, it contrasts with the long-form Ngil masks. The relief-engraved hood highlights the face of a young girl with delicate features. Pigment remnants on one side. Kaolin patina worn smooth. The appearance of these masks generally coated with kaolin (the white color evokes the power of the ancestors), in the middle of the night, could provoke fear. This type of mask was used by the masculine Ngil society, which no longer exists today. This secret society was responsible for initiations and fought against sorcery. The ngil was a rite of purifying fire symbolized by the gorilla. The bearers of these masks, always in great numbers, would appear at night, lit by torches. Their intervention was also linked to the judicial function by designating the culprits of bad actions within the village. The Fang ethnic group, established in a region spanning from Yaoundé in Cameroon to Ogooué in Gabon, has never had political unity. The cohesion of the clans was maintained through the mediation of religious and judicial associations such as the so and