Fang Bieri Reliquary Figure with Feathers Equatorial Guinea

Overall Condition: Good. Most of our pieces have spent decades on at least two continents, and have been treasured by several owners.   Small splits, scrapes and cracks are a normal part of their patina attesting to their age and extensive use.  We examine each piece carefully when we receive it and report any damage we find in our listings.  Please look carefully at the pictures which may also reveal condition and damage.

Damage/Repair: Cracks and embedded dirt

As some of the most powerful and best know sculptural forms emerging from Africa, Fang figures hold a prominent place in the history of African art.  As reliquary guardians, Fang figures often appear as though they are slightly crouched with legs slightly bent or shown in a seated position with a narrow stick-like extension often reaching downwards from the buttocks.  Often, the byeri reliquary held the bones of ancestors and were venerated through annual ceremonies at which they were present in the form of the sculptures.  Photographed as early as 1907, the cult of Byeri began to lose its prominence after 1910 due to colonial government pressure.  In the past, figures would often be embellished with native copper bands around arms or wrists and some would hold in front of them miniature ancestor figures or carved animal horns known as Nlakh or small cups used in byeri rituals.

 

Provenance: From the Collection of Robert Pearson, Denver, Colorado