Masque-Heaume, Fang/Bulu, Gabon

Collection privée
Phillipe Ratton & Daniel Hourdé, Paris, ca. 2003
Collection privée

Good condition overall. Wear consistent with age and use within the culture. Consistent loss to the rear of the mask. Central part under the chin has been broken and glued. Visible cracks to the horns. The rest of the mask is very well preserved with beautiful carving.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Les masques à cornes Fang de la société initiatique du so forment un corpus très restreint, observé jusque dans les années 1920 dans le nord-est du Gabon et en pays Bulu, au Sud-Cameroun. "Ils ont disparu, comme les rites du so, dès les années 1930" (Perrois, Fang, 2006, p. 47). 

Seuls deux autres masques très étroitement apparentés - caractérisés par la forme "en lyre" des cornes courbées l'une vers l'autre, et par l'extrémité "à jabot" - sont connus : le premier conservé au Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde de Munich (Perrois, idem, n° 44, collecté dans les années 1930 au Sud-Cameroun) ; le second dans une collection américaine (Siroto, East of the Atlantic, West of the Congo. Art from Equatorial Africa. The Dwight and Blossom Strong Collection, 1995, p. 25). Le musée du quai Branly possède un masque de type comparable (inv. n° 71.1977.87.1), collecté dans la région de Lambaréné entre 1909 et 1910 par le pasteur Nicolas Christol. Ici, la force des volumes est accentuée par la beauté de la surface picturale, associant l'abstraction des motifs graphiques à la prégnance de l'ancien décor polychrome.  

Helmet-mask, Fang/Bulu, Gabon

Horned masks from the so Fang initiation society form a very a small corpus. These mask were observed until the 1920s in the north-east of Gabon and in Bulu country in south Cameroon. 'They disappeared, like the so rituals, in the 1930s' (Perrois, Fang, 2006, p. 47).

Only two other closely related masks (characterized by their 'lyre' form, with the horns curved in towards each other, and the jabot-like frilling at the end) are known: one in the Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde, Munich (Perrois, ibid., p. 44, collected in the 1930s in south Cameroon); and one in an American collection (Siroto, East of the Atlantic, West of the Congo - Art from Equatorial Africa: the Dwight and Blossom Strong Collection, 1995, p. 25). The Musée du Quai Branly has a mask of comparable type (Inv. No. 71.1977.87.1) collected in the region of Lambaréné between 1909 and 1910 by Pastor Nicolas Christol. Here, the strength of the volumes is enhanced by the beauty of the pictorial surface, which combines abstract graphic patterns with the force of the old polychrome patina.