African Arts Gallery

Stool or small table decorated with representations of Fang du Ngil masks. Patina of use, copper staples, indigenous restorations (wicker rods).
The peoples known as Fang, or "Pahouins", described as conquering warriors, invaded by successive leaps, from village to village, the entire vast region between Sanaga in Cameroon and Ogooué in Gabon, between the 18th and the beginning of the 20th century.At the bottom of their huts, in a dark and often smoky corner, the heads of lineages carefully stored their Byéri, the relic chests and the sculptures which “watched” them. The daily life of the Fang consisted of three priorities: perpetuating social identity, surviving in a hostile natural environment, dialoguing with the deceased to distance them from the living. (Louis Perrois)