251137 - Extremly Rare & old African Byeri Fang sculpture on stand Gabon.

Old & Rare African Reliquiar Byeri Fang anthropomorphic sculpture on stand from Gabon. 

Size: 48 cm high with stand.

This Fang sculpture was dated from the First half of the 20th century and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Unique Fang Byeri figurine from Gabon. Fang Byeri figurines are typically characterized by a standing male figure with bent legs and an elongated torso. The Fang occupy such a large geographical area that several sub-styles have developed. However, there are two main style groups – the northern and the southern. Northern Fang figurines typically have elongated features and are often decorated with copper strips.

Powerful appearance with a beautiful patina.

Provenance: Former private collection from the Netherlands. Includes a custom-made stand.

The Fang ethnic group number about 900,000 and constitute a vast village communities, established in a large zone of Atlantic equatorial Africa: consisting Cameroon, continental Equatorial Guinea and northern part of Gabon, on the right bank of the Ogowe River. Fang people used masks and statues/figures in their secret societies, the “bieri”, or ancestor sculpture. They celebrate this figure when a new crop was planted or before fishing or going hunting. The Fang bieri has the proportion of a new born, this emphasizing the groups’ continuity with its ancestor and with (three faces); the three classes of society: the “not-yet-born”, the living and the dead. This stunning fine figure shown here was also used for the initiation of young males into their secret societies as members.