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Eternal Ancestors: The Art of the Central African Reliquary
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Sculptural Element from a Reliquary Ensemble: Seated Female (The Pahouin or Black Venus)
Fang peoples, Betsi group; Gabon, 19th century
Wood, raffia; H. 22 1/16 in. (56 cm.)
Musée Dapper, Paris 2891
Ex colls.: Georges de Miré, Paris; Louis Carré, Paris, 1935; Sir Jacob Epstein, London; The Carlo Monzino Collection, Lugano
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Unrivaled in its synthesis of refined elegance, grace, and physical power, this stunning female figure, created to be poised at the summit of a Fang reliquary, became synonymous with a new canon of beauty. When she was first shown at the Lefevre galleries in London in 1933 she was hailed as an African Venus.
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