FANG Cameroon, southern region, Gabon h 40 cm Byeri... Lot 17

FANG Cameroon, southern region, Gabon h 40 cm Byeri reliquary head. Wood with a black, crusty glaze with traces of oily substances with continuous exudation on the bottom part. Old iron nail with a square section on the front, metal tacks on the eyes. Wooden head that has a mouth with closed lips pushed forwards in the act of frowning. The hairstyle, with a large tuft that descends behind the nape and the two smallest sides, shows a style common in the region.The roundness of the brow, the well-proportioned nose, the tacks on the eyes, and the absence of ears are elements that place this work among the classic typology of Betsi heads. The large cylindrical name is adjusted to attach the head to the box of relics, now disappeared.The wood shows signs of prolonged use, particularly on the head, as well as fractures from the era owing to the fact that this work was exposed for a long time to the equatorial climate. PROVENANCE Ex collezione Walter Glaser (Basilea); Ex collezione Eduard Hess (2001) (*);>br>Collezione Walter Schwab, Berna (inv. WS 544) (2002) Etichette di antica provenienza sono ancora incollate sul retro della scultura;Collection of Walter Schwab, Bern (inv. WS 544) (2002) Labels of old origins are still affixed to the back of the sculpture; NOTE Lot not located at Finarte offices but in Switzerland. It could be subject to customs costs related to the importation into the buyer’s country. In any event, any customs cost and/or burden related to importation shall be borne by the buyer. For more information, please write an email to arteafricana@finarte.it LITERATURE PERROIS LOUIS, La statuaire Fang du Gabon, sulla rivista “Arts d’Afrique Noire” n° 7, inverno 1973, pagg.22 - 42; PERROIS LOUIS, Arts du Gabon, Arnouville 1979 (119); PERROIS LOUIS, Art ancestral du Gabon, Ginevra 1985 (106); PERROIS LOUIS, Byeri Fang: sculptures d’ancetres en Afrique, Marsiglia 1992 (1002); McKESSON JOHN, Réflexions sur l’évolution de la sculpture des reliquiaires Fang, Articolo pubblicato sulla rivista francese “Arts d’Afrique Noire” n° 63, autunno 1987, pagg.7 - 21; LABURTHE TOLRA P. & FALGAYRETTES LEVAU C., Fang, Edizioni FONDAZIONE DAPPER; Parigi 1991 (277); LAUDE JEAN, The Arts of Black Africa, Los Angeles 1971, pag. 59 (115); AUTORI VARI, Les forets natales: Arts d’Afrique équatoriale atlantique, Musée du Quai Branly, Parigi 2017, pagg. 180 - 185 (966);