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African & Tribal Art :
Fang : Pair of Fang Wooden Byeri Sculptures
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Pair of Fang Wooden Byeri Sculptures - PF.6034
Origin: Gabon
Circa: 20
th
Century AD
Dimensions:
13.75" (34.9cm) high
Collection: African
Style: Fang
Medium: Wood
£3,000.00
Location: Great Britain
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| Description |
The Fang people migrated from the northwest during the 18th and 19th centuries and are today spread out across southern Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. They are primarily hunters but farm as well. Fang social structure is based upon the clan, a group of individuals with a common ancestor, and upon the family. They also maintain tribal cohesion through the So and Ngil societies. Each family possessed a Byeri, or reliquary box, in which the bones of famous ancestors were kept. The box was kept by the Esa, the eldest man in the family.
Fang Byeri figures (the guardian statue that surmounts the Byeri box) are usually characterized by a seated male figure. He normally has bent legs, an elongated torso, hands which are joined usually holding a vessel of sorts, and a head with stylized features that may include inlaid metal eyes. In this case, both seated figures hold animal horns referred to as Nlakh, which, in Byeri cult ceremonies, contain magical substances. Pairings of such figures are quite unusual. Perhaps these statues joined forces to protect together an especially significant reliquary box that deserved the protection of two guardians. Perhaps each figure independently guarded Byeri boxes relating to the same clan or extended family. What is certain is that both these figures command a forceful presence in the mysterious, magical realm of the other world. They function both as guardians of the spirits of deceased ancestors as well as the protectors of our health and benevolence that are influence by the forces from beyond.
- (PF.6034)
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