Ndjem Fang, Sangha River region, Cameroon - Lot 323

Lot 323
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Estimation :
500 - 700 EUR
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Ndjem Fang, Sangha River region, Cameroon - Lot 323
Ndjem Fang, Sangha River region, Cameroon Rare wooden reliquary H. 28 cm - W. 11 cm The figure, with bent legs, appears to be seated on a base reminiscent of that found on Fang statues, which are traditionally placed in the basket where the bones of ancestors are kept. The back, forearms, and legs are decorated with an incised pattern of rings or short parallel ribs. The brachycephalic head, with a triangular face projecting forward, features two round mother-of-pearl eyes set very close together and brow ridges shaped like a visor; the short arms barely emerging from the torso, and the hands with open palms rendered as flat discs, reflect an original technique of which there are few known examples in the sculptural arts of Gabon and Congo. The piece evokes the iconography of reliquary guardians and certainly attests to the eastward spread of ancestral cult practices.
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