Horned mask · Gabon, Fang / Pangwe · ID: 3053438
Starting price
EUR 5,000
Estimated price
EUR 10,000
Provenance
Ludwig Bretschneider, Munich, Germany (before WW II)Georg Neuner, Munich, Germany
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, Germany, 26 November 2005, lot 20
Arno Henseler, Munich, Germany
Size
H: 91 cm
H: 35.8 inch
Description
wood, pigments, base
For a comparable mask see AHDRC 0152949.
Horned masks of the Fang play an important role in the initiation rite known as “alu”. At the beginning of the ceremony, the horn-bearer, the “epo’a”, appears together with his acolytes, the “bisis”. They invoke the “shadows,” that is, the spirits of the dead, who are meant to unsettle and frighten the young initiates before the masked figures disappear again into the night.
Comparing literature
Perrois, Louis, Visions of Africa, Fang, Milan 2006, pl. 41