Fang cane, Gabon Wood H. 100 cm Provenance :... Lot 44

Fang cane, Gabon Wood H. 100 cm Provenance : Private collection, Madrid, Spain The anthropomorphic pommel outlines with finesse and subtlety the features and modelling of a small statuette of the same workmanship as those of the Byeri, "to the figures of ancestors are attached, probably with a religious significance at the origin, the human figures found at the end of many chief's canes". (G. Tessmann, Die Pangwé, 1913, Tome 1, p.275). Fang canes, a distinctive sign of authority and an attribute of social status, were the prerogative of notables. A veritable regalia, often of surprising harmony and balance, they were endowed, as Louis Perrois writes, with "very fine workmanship." (Louis Perrois, Guinée équatoriale, Aurore édition d'art, 1991). Carved from mahogany-toned wood, the top of the handle is animated by incised engravings forming a frieze within which triangles appear as if to decorate the neck of the face they announce. The meticulous treatment of the facial elements intensifies its expressiveness, marked both by strength and ferocity rendered by its wide, flattened mouth with thick, grooved lips, and by serenity signified by its closed eyes sculpted in reserve. A rare and beautiful example.