| FANG Gabon, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea |
| BYERI head Nlo-byeri The byeri cult is a cult among the Fang that honored ancestral spirits. In a broad sense, the word “byeri” means “ancestor” and figures with the same name were made to be placed on the bark boxes called nsek-byeri that contained the skull(s) of an important family member(s) (man or woman). Very few people were allowed to see the contents of the nsek-byeri and the privilege was usually given to one of the mature sons of the family who is given the responsibility of caring for the byeri objects and maintaining proper rituals. Non-family members were never allowed to see the contents of the nsek-byeri. The nsek-byeri was kept in a special room in the house and was only opened on special occasion. The sculpted byeri figures or heads served as a guardian to frighten away intruders. The figures generally represented the collective dead of the family instead of representing any one particular family member. From 1930 on, traditional Fang religion and art underwent a drastic transformation, until byeri figures were no longer made and their cult no longer maintained. References - African Aesthetics |
| It is tempting for historians of African art to place the various Fang sub-styles and the types of objects they produced within a chronological perspective, notably when it comes to solitary heads. Given the present state of our knowledge, this is a most hazardous exercise. The historical precedence presumed for these heads as compared to whole byeri figurettes, is unfounded. One has simply noted that the majority of such heads that are known and documented, come from the right bank of the Ogowe River, in its middle course, in the regions of Abanga, Okano and the Gabon estuary. No head has been localized further to the north, that is, in south Cameroun. One may suppose that at least in the nineteenth century, solitary heads coexisted with full-size statuettes in many Betsi and Nzaman villages of Woleu-Ntem. Certain of these heads have a very characteristic coiffure, with a "helmet of tresses" of geometric design, framing the face with a markedly domed forehead, very precisely recalling the hairpieces always worn by both men and women, made from rattan and vegetal wadding, and decorated with cowries, glass beads, and often with shirt buttons of European making (afakh or nlo o ngo). The Fang heads, certain of them important masterpieces, are often particularly finely sculpted works, in contrast to the figurettes whose subsidiary parts (hands, feet, sometimes limbs) are often left in an sketchy state, with only the upper-body occupying much of the sculptor's concern. Source: L. Perrois |
| I do not have a Fang head in my collection anymore. The examples below are for reference purposes only. |
| The Fang heads below are from the Carl Monzino Collection Images from the book "African Aesthetics" |
| Click on any picture to see full size version |
| Reliquary Guardian Gabon, Fang Wood, height 29 cm. Ex coll.: Ascher; Jacob Epstein Exhibited: Paris, Galerie Pigaile. 1930; London. USE Arts Council of Great Britain, 1960 Published: Paris. Gaierie Pigalle 1930. no, 168; Fagg 1960, no. 1; Elisofon and Fagg 1958. p. 169; Perrois 1972, p. 325; Perrois 1979. p. 92 |
| Reliquary Guardian Gabon, Fang Wood, nails, height 58.5 cm: height of face 24.5 cm. Ex coll.: Andre Detain Exhibited: Turin, Galleria Civica di Torino. 1971 |
| Reliquary Guardian Gabon, Fang Wood, metal, height 32.5 cm. Ex coll.: Jacob Epstein Exhibited: London, The Arts Council of Great Britain. 1960 Published: Elisofon and Fagg 1958, p. 166; Fagg 1960. no. 1; Tzara 1962. p. 48: Perrois 1972. p. 323 |
| Reliquary Guardian Gabon, Fang Wood, metal, height 58 cm; height of face 24cm. Ex coll.: Charles Ratton; Jacob Epstein Exhibited: London, The Arts Council of Great Britain, 1960 Published: Fagg 1960, no. 1 |
| Reliquary Guardian: "The Brummer Head" Gabon, Fang Wood, metal, height 63.5 cm.; head with coiffure 34 cm. Ex coll.: Joseph Brummer; Jacob Epstein Exhibited: Prague Skupyna Vytvarny Umelcu, 1913; London, The Arts Council of Great Britain, 1960 Published: Prague 1912, pp. 151, 201; Einstein 1915, pp. 16-17; Easier 1929, pi. 41a; Kjersmeier 1935-38, vol. 4, pi. 17; Elisofon and Fagg 1958, p. 168; Fagg 1960, cover; Delange 1967, p. 140; Segy 1969, pi. 12; Perrois 1972 p. 93; Cork 1976, p. 455 |
| The Fang heads below are from the Armand Arman Collection Images from the book "African Faces, African Figures" |
| Fang (Okana Valley School), Gabon 20.5 cm |
| 18.5 cm |
| Reliquary head Gang-Ntumu, Gabon Wood, metal' H 26cm Formerly in the Charles Ratton Collection |
| To see additional Fang byeri heads and figures click here to go to my Fang style comparison page in my You Be the Judge section of my website |
| Map source: http://www.ethno.unizh.ch/csfconference/files/papers/ |