Harp "ngombi" · Gabon. Tsogho (?) · ID: 3040131

Name: Harp "ngombi"
SKU: 3040131
Availability: Discontinued

not available anymore

Size

H: 80 cm

H: 31.5 inch

Description

light brown wood, matt patina, remains of pigments, corpus stretched with leather, reptile skin resp. printed metal plate, surmounted by a human head, eyes inset with mirror glass, complete with strings and wooden pegs, min. dam., small missing parts, cracks, traces of usage;
during the early 1900s in response to the rise of Western religions, the “bieri” ancestor cult gave birth to a revivalist religion called “bwiti”. Harp lutes came to represent the balance between men and women, and between humankind and the supernatural. Harp music is perceived to be the female voice of pity and comfort that keeps foreign evils at bay so that people can communicate with their ancestors.

The object Harp “ngombi” with the object ID 3040131 was last part of the auction 82nd Tribal Art Auction at February 27, 2016 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 441.

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