Fang, one of the mythical jewels of tribal art, the statuary of equatorial Africa, the technical skill and sense of balanced arrangement of forms, seem to be the prerogative of a few groups and not of the entire Pahouin block.

They represented the first ancestor of the family line whose relics are kept for worship. The Nzaman, like the Betsi of the Ogoué and Okano valleys, are Fang tribes of southern Gabon, very close to the Wai style.

The disappearance of the Fang style from the 1930/1940 period due in part to revealed religions, annihilated the ancestral beliefs of the Fangs and at the same time destroyed all the ancient ritual objects and in particular the statues of ancestors.

It is behind the bed of the head of the family and the siblings that the reliquary of the Byeri was discreetly installed, a reliquary chest containing bones and skulls, on top of this reliquary a full-length statue, male or female, but sometimes also a wooden head, they protected the relics of the lineage of the ancestors.

The reliquary is a figure that fixes the identity, that embodies the brotherhood. In short, it is the material representation of an egregore. In esotericism, it would be a force that would need to be constantly fed by its members through established and defined rituals, in this sense, it is a form of collective unconscious.

In any case, the reliquary, the receptacle of relics - often of a highly deserving family member - embodies the clan itself and maintains, guarantees its unity.

The skulls were those of men in the prime of life and not those of old men; they were considered the life force of individuals. Afterwards they were shown to the initiates, the father of the family invoked the ancestors to favor luck, wealth and fertility of the women.

Very beautiful female reliquary figure with deep interiorization, wrinkled eyes, straight nose, heart-shaped figure with rounded forehead. Very beautiful headdress with three shells and a strap on the forehead, it has small tapestry nails delimiting each of them and having two holes for fixing certainly for Touraco feathers, the ears taking the shape of the shells.

The mouth prognathic, presents some catches on the lips. Independent chin, the longiline body with separated breasts presents beautiful forms, the bent arms, with the hands returning on the belly above the prominent navel, the trunk bulging at the level of this last one. The powerful legs, with stubby thighs in a seated position with marked feet, hole at the level of the seat allowing to fix a wood for the reliquary. The back presents a delimitation of the shoulder blades as well as that of the column, the whole presents a great serenity and elegance. Deep black patina, shiny in places, showing a very old use.

(Reprise in this text of some writings of Mr Louis Perrois in his exceptional book " Fan Gabon, ORSTOM 1972 " From the paragraph 11 styles of the fans of the south).

Provenance :

• René Marteaux, Belgium, by descent.
• Sotheby's Tribal Art LONDON March 1990
• Former American collection

Expertise :

• Dr. Bernard de Grunne (for the sale)
• Carbon 14 dating (Analysis report provided)