FANG Cameroon, southern region
h 52 cm Byeri male reliquary figure. Light-coloured medium-dense wood covered with a black glaze, traces of erosion, old fractures, and indigenous restorations. It has a hand-crafted iron necklace and a fitted copper belt. This represents an ancestral figure (byeri), sculpted following the style that the specialist Louis Perrois has identified as Ntumu, a subgroup of the Fang people located in South Cameroon, north-west of Gabon and around Equatorial Guinea.The main characteristics of this group are:Head of average proportion to a prominent brow, a sleek, slender torso, arms extended from the body, short legs, the trunk of the body sitting on a support beam.These sculptures, preserved in a family sanctuary, were placed on wicker boxes that contained the skulls and remains of the ancestors who had founded their clan’s lineage. During commemoration ceremonies, a mixture of magic substances, sacrificial blood, palm oil, and resins were dripped onto the wood, as this granted the statue its life force.
FANG Cameroon, southern region
h 52 cm Byeri male reliquary figure. Light-coloured medium-dense wood covered with a black glaze, traces of erosion, old fractures, and indigenous restorations. It has a hand-crafted iron necklace and a fitted copper belt. This represents an ancestral figure (byeri), sculpted following the style that the specialist Louis Perrois has identified as Ntumu, a subgroup of the Fang people located in South Cameroon, north-west of Gabon and around Equatorial Guinea.The main characteristics of this group are:Head of average proportion to a prominent brow, a sleek, slender torso, arms extended from the body, short legs, the trunk of the body sitting on a support beam.These sculptures, preserved in a family sanctuary, were placed on wicker boxes that contained the skulls and remains of the ancestors who had founded their clan’s lineage. During commemoration ceremonies, a mixture of magic substances, sacrificial blood, palm oil, and resins were dripped onto the wood, as this granted the statue its life force.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
