Squatting female figure "gheonga" ·  Gabon, Tsogho / Vuvi · ID: 3046666

Description

wood, colour pigments, brass, cord, base

The rare statuettes of the Tsogho were used for rites of the “bwiti” society and for the ancestral cult “mombe”

The figures were kept in the men’s house, together with the busts called “mbumba bwiti”, which were placed in relic baskets. During funeral rituals or the rituals that accompanied a new harvest, the figures were displayed.

A comparable figure in squatting posture published by Goy (2016), p. 57 (also AHDRC 0050106)

The object Squatting female figure “gheonga” with the object ID 3046666 was part of the auction 94th Tribal Art Auction on March 7, 2020. The object with the lot number 300 achieved a sales price of EUR 6,000 with an asking price of EUR 3,500.

You can find more Figures and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.

Comparing literature

Phillips, Tom (Hg.), Afrika, Die Kunst eines Kontinents, Berlin 1996, p. 315 Goy, Bertrand, Tsogho, Paris 2016, p. 57