Statue(s) (1) - Wood - byeri - Fang - Gabon

Property from a Private Collection . FANG FEMALE ANCESTOR STATUE FROM A RELIQUARY ENSEMBLE, GABON, CA. 1920/30
On a 1950ties wood base, crafted in Germany. Height: 15 1/2 in (39 cm) This previouisly unpublished Fang statue from a German collection was once part of a byeri ritual ensemble which included also a reliquary vessel made of bark, containing the skulls of dynastic ancestors. Of powerful physiognomy and rigorous geometry, this image of an ancestor expresses the quiet strength and introspective stillness for which Fang art is so beloved. With brass eyes. Liquid palm oil applied in its original ritual context glistens on the surface. The statue has been painted white and recleaned with palm oil at some point of time in the colonial past, which has left some remains of white color the natural cracks of the wood, but there is still patina and visible incrustrations left, especially on the right leg and foot. Provenance: Sir Kurt Gaulke (1926-2011), Lemgo, presumably acquired in Brussels in the 1950s
Dr. Kay Meiners, grandson of the above, acquired it in 2011