Fang Reliquary Byeri Head, Gabon African

Description

Type of Object
Reliquary Figure (Byeri Figure)
Country of Origin
Gabon & Equatorial Guinea
People
Fang (Ntumu Sub-group, Northern Fang)
Materials
Wood, Brass/cooper alloy
Approximate Age
Mid 20th Century
Height (in)
12
Width (in)
5
Depth (in)
5
Overall Condition
Good. Most of our pieces have spent decades on at least two continents, and have been treasured by several owners.   Small splits, scrapes and cracks are a normal part of their patina attesting to their age and extensive use.  We examine each piece carefully when we receive it and report any damage we find in our listings.  Please look carefully at the pictures which may also reveal condition and damage.
Damage/Repair
l
Fang Reliquary Byeri Head, Gabon African
Additional Information:
Though close in their different forms Fang reliquary figures fall into a number of subtly differentiated sub-styles that stretch from their core area in Gabon to southern Cameroon. This reliquary figure in the form of a pole is carved in a Northern Fang sculptural style and in a technique that is slightly different than most reliquary figures from this area. The heart shaped face and features, hairstyle and body shape locate the figure among the Ntumu, a northern Fang sub-group. Brass tacks define the eyes and the smooth surface of this figure reflects the use and care given to the figure over an extended period of time.
During migrations which took place in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the Fang people moved to their present area becoming part of a complex overlay of population of approximately 200,000, presently reaching from southern Cameroon into Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Living in small forest communities the Fang focused upon tightly knit kinship and lineage systems and the veneration of ancestors through the use of figurative sculptures. Each lineage's ancestors were located in family shrines where memorials or reliquary boxes known as byeri, containing their bones were under the care of an elder known as the Esa. Containers made of either bark or woven basketry were surmounted by sculpted figures known as eyema-o-byeri that guarded the remains of Fang ancestors (Fernandez 1975: 723-46). When not in actual use the sculpted figures were generally hidden from view. This figure most probably was placed on a family altar where it was venerated. Fang memorial sculpture has a long history of use and was in fact photographed as early as 1907 (Tessmann 1913/1972, vol. II). However the cult of Byeri began to lose its prominence after 1910 due to colonial government pressure.
Recommended Reading:
Fernandez, J. 'La statuaire Fang-Gabon', African Arts, 8, No.1, 1974. Fernandez, J. W. and R. L. 'Fang Reliquary Art: Its Quantities and Qualities.' Cahiers d'etudes africaines, 15, No. 5. 1975 Perrois, L. Statuaire fang, Paris. 1972 Perrois, L. Sculpture traditionelle du Gabon, Paris. 1977 Tessmann, G. Die Pangwe, Berlin and New York. 1913(1972)
I have examined this piece and agree with the description.
Niangi Batulukisi, Ph.D.
**137844**
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