BYERI

Details

A FINE FANG FIGURE
byeri
The tapered face with slit mouth below the slender nose, metal inset pupils to the eyes, one with brass inlay, the ears carved in relief, the coiffure in three ridges tapering to a single plait at the nape of the neck, the central ridge pierced twice at the top, the slender arms carved free of the body with the hands joined below the abdomen, the circular navel and pectoral muscles carved in relief, grooved spine at the back, fine dark glossy patina
47.5cm. high

Provenance

Collected by the vendor's father in Gabon between 1920 and 1937.

Special notice

The buyer's premium is 28.125% of the hammer price up to value of NLG 200,000 plus 19.2% of any amount in excess of NLG 200,000

Lot Essay

This fine Fang figure is clearly in a northern Fang style and is probably from the Ntoumou as is suggested by the elongated form of the body and the long slender arms. There are clear similarities to the famous and frequently published figure formerly in the Jacob Epstein collection and now in the Rosemary and George Lois collection (Perrois, L., la statuaire fan gabon, Paris, 1972, no. 216, p. 201) which Perrois attributes to the Ntoumou. Both figures have a long tapered face with slender nose and small mouth. The pectoral muscles are in each case carved in shallow relief on the upper body. The arms of both figures are of long slender form and curved towards the lower abdomen with a prominent line at the junction of the shoulder and upper arm. as is this the case with many other Ntoumou figures the fingers of the hands are not delineated.

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