Head sculpture ·  Gabon, Tsogho · ID: 3033406

Description

wood, reddish brown patina, encrustations with blackish mass in some areas, rising from a massive columnar neck, a narrow face with nearly closed eyes and open mouth (reminding of a dead person), slightly dam., cracks, minor missing parts (partly spread with mass), old collection number backside, handwritten, black on white: “AJP 1157”, on block-like base;
presumably coming from a reliquary ensemble. Like most ethnic groups in Gabon, the Tsogho venerate their ancestors by focusing on the remains of them, which are kept in a basket and surmounted by a half figure or a head as guardian of the reliquaries, a practice which is also common with the neighbouring Sango to the east.

The object Head sculpture with the object ID 3033406 was part of the auction 70th tribal art auction on September 8, 2012. The object with the lot number 368 achieved a sales price of EUR 10,000 with an asking price of EUR 7,500.

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Comparing literature

Lagamma, Alisa (ed.), Eternal Ancestors, New York 2007, ill. 99 f. Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture, München 2009, p. 584