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    Sale 2506

    TRIBAL ART

    Amsterdam

    |

    29 May 2001

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    • A FINE FANG FIGURE
    Lot 80

    A FINE FANG FIGURE

    BYERI

    Price realised

    NLG 88,125

    Estimate

    NLG 50,000 - NLG 80,000

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    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.

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    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.

    Other information

    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


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