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Figure from a Reliquary Ensemble: Seated Male Holding Vessel

19th - early 20th century (before 1914)
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
This Fang reliquary element was a visual focal point of "Statuary in Wood," prominently positioned on a pedestal. After the work’s removal from Africa at an undetermined date, its history was marked by a succession of transatlantic travels, illustrating the nature of the African-art market since the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1915, following its display at 291, it was acquired in Paris by one of the most prominent African-art collectors of his time, Frank Burty Haviland. Following Haviland’s death in 1971, it disappeared into an American private collection until it resurfaced in the late 1980s and returned to France. It is exhibited here for the first time since 1914.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Figure from a Reliquary Ensemble: Seated Male Holding Vessel
  • Date: 19th - early 20th century (before 1914)
  • Geography: Gabon
  • Culture: Fang peoples
  • Medium: Wood, brass or copper
  • Dimensions: H. x W.: 20 1/16 x 22 13/16 in. (51 x 58 cm)
  • Classification: Wood-Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Collection Pierre Amrouche
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing