African Arts Gallery

The Fang of Cameroon and those of Gabon, like the Kota, make abundant use of metal in statuary.
Semi-flexed muscular legs, arms with an apparent join spread from the bust, this Byeri ancestor sculpture, with a sagging chest, an umbilical hernia, also features a realistic face embellished with a majestic metal-highlighted hairstyle. The oiled mahogany brown patina is enhanced by the presence of hammered copper leaves, while a necklace of pearls, curies, and seeds, belts the hips of the effigy.
Every family has a Byeri, or reliquary box, in which the bones of ancestors are preserved. These boxes were guarded by the oldest man in the village, the esa. The reliquary boxes were surmounted by a statue or a head that acted as the guardian of the 'byeri' boxes. These were kept in a dark corner of the box, and were intended to divert evil influences to someone else. They were also used during the initiation ceremonies of young people linked to society. So, so. During the holidays, statues whose vision was forbidden to women, were separated from their boxes and carried in parade. The rites were subject to the absorption of a hallucinogenic plant substance .alan.