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An Important OLD Fang NGIL Judiciary Mask
Antique African Art - Tribal Sculpture - Gabon
Collected from the: Fang peoples of Gabon
Material: Carved wood, kaolin (white clay)
Period: Later 19th to very earliest 20th century
Dimensions: 16.5" height, 7.5" width, 5" depth; weight is 1.50 pounds
Condition: Excellent. From a private Parisian collection, exquisite signs of age and wear from authentic tribal use. Indigenous repair to back rim edge, age cracks and nicks test stable, exposed wood displays significant patination. Make special note of the surface condition, anticipated accumulated fine debris of daily life and hole wear. Gorgeous weathered patina displays liberal traces of early kaolin under beautifully burnished skin oil indicative of frequent tribal wear and handling - a splendid example of early Fang art !
Please click on the photos below to fully appreciate this important old masque!
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Fang NGIL Mask Traditions and Use
Characterized by elongated heads and the harmonious curves of their convex foreheads with a heart-shaped, concave faces the Ngil masks of the Fang, a people of Equatorial Guinea, northwest Gabon, and south Cameroon, represent a masquerading tradition that waned over 100 years ago. Detailed knowledge about these retributive masks is accordingly scarce, though it would appear the masks were worn by members of a male society of the same name during the initiation of new members and the persecution of wrong-doers. The white-faced Ngil masks Ngil masks were believed to hold judiciary powers and so were worn when sentences and punishments were handed down from the by the ominous Ngil society. The long, “monstrous” nose and small severe eyes terrified Fang tribal members: white kaolin face paint was used to invoke the power of the ancestors, an indication that the mask was intended to embody the spirits of the deceased. Masqueraders clad in raffia costumes and attended by helpers, formed inquisitorial groups of initiates who, making the rounds of villages, would materialize in the village after dark, illuminated by flickering torchlight. The Ngil (society, masks and practices) was banned by the French colonial government in 1910 after the disorderly behavior of its officiates resulted in a series of ritual murders.
Fang Tribal History
Numbering around 400,000, the Fang form the largest ethnic group in Gabon, where they settled north of the Ogowe River in the 19th century. A militarily superior people, they drove out or assimilated a number of other tribes who had previously inhabited the region. The Fang were traditionally hunters and farmers whose ironwork achieved an extremely high level of craftsmanship – the Fang were using copper and iron bars as currency even in pre-colonial times. Historically, the Fang have never had a controlling central political body; village chiefs and council of elders governed village life. Secret associations, such as the all male Ngil and So societies also played important social and religious roles. Animist beliefs impregnated Fang life and thought, underlying all their rites and giving insight into the meaning of their symbols. The masks and cult objects used by members of the Ngil and So societies are among the most sought after works of African art and had an enormous influence on European art over the past century. Also well known in the art world are the Fang’s reliquary guardian figures which decorated cylindrical containers made of tree bark – known as Bieri or Byeri - which held the skulls of the dead. The Fang had a very particular, familiar relationship with death, devoid of any morbid fear. Skulls were considered to be the receptacle of vital strength, whether they were the skulls of direct kin or of enemies who had been killed in battle or captured and sacrificed; some were even stolen from neighboring groups. However, only the skulls of ancestors of the lineage were kept in the bark reliquaries and guarded by anthropomorphic figures. According to Fang informants, elders were not particularly respected, except for a few people with significant magic powers, and the skulls in the nsekh byeri (bark reliquary baskets) usually belonged to men who had died in battle (for example) during the prime of their life, rather than decrepit old men. Traditionally, in a group with at least two generations, the eldest surviving member became a mvam, or ancestor. The byeri were an important part of Fang ancestor worship which were painted with oil and blood and offered food during cult ceremonies. Such ancestor worship, generally known as byeri, was practiced by all Fang groups from Cameroon to Gabon.
We Recommend Reading: Gabon, Eternal Ancestors, Visions of Africa: Fang and African Masks from the Barbier-Mueller Collection for an in depth account of this fascinating form.
Cat. # skm14
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