Lot 79E
Central Africa, Gabon, Fang peoples, ca. early to mid 20th century CE. A wonderful hand-carved wooden reliquary figure seated upon an integral third leg extending from his posterior. The wide-spread legs feature stylized toes with delineated male genitalia hanging in-between, and his rotund body and projecting navel gradually taper to a corseted chest and powerful shoulders. Held in both hands is a small reliquary vessel meant to hold offerings or mementos to one's ancestors. Atop its thick neck, the adult-form body boasts a child-like head comprised of thin lips, slender cheeks, a bar-shaped nose, recessed circular eyes, and an enormous brow line leading to a swept-back coiffure. Known as a "Nlo Bieri," this figure is a fabulous anthropomorphic example rife with expert artistry and deep symbolism. Size: 20.25" H (51.4 cm).
Members of the Fang tribe are deeply-devoted to dualistic relationships in nature such as past and present, life and death, birth and rebirth, etc. and are able to symbolically recognize these relationships as well as the positive qualities of life through the ancestral cult known as the Bieri. Bieri figures, like this example, personify the upstanding aspects of individuals, such as peace, logic, and preserving the balance between dualistic qualities.
The manner in which this figure exhibits an adult body and a child-like face invokes how the Fang choose to represent the connection between death and rebirth. Symbolic figures like these are so powerful and revered within Fang society that both women and uninitiated boys are forbidden from viewing the figure entirely.
Provenance: private Eason Eige collection, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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#131202
- Condition: Expected age-commensurate surface wear, with small hairline fissures on chest, arms, and face. Small chips to legs, feet, and head, and some discoloration, otherwise intact and very good. Nice earthen deposits throughout.
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