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Elemento escultural de un relicario

19th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 344
Esta es la más monumental de las cabezas escultóricas creadas por los maestros fang del África ecuatorial durante el siglo XIX. Se entronca en una tradición en la que las esculturas figurativas de los fundadores del linaje se colocaban sobre altares familiares portátiles que contenían preciosas reliquias. Tras haber perdido su contexto a principios del siglo XX, esta cabeza sirvió de fuente de inspiración para artistas occidentales. Adquirida por el poeta chileno Vicente Huidobro poco después de su llegada a París en 1918, tal vez le inspiró el poema «Ecuatorial» dedicado a Picasso.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Título: Elemento escultural de un relicario
  • Fecha: Siglo XIX–principios del siglo XX
  • Geografía: Gabón
  • Cultura: Etnia fang, grupo betsi
  • Material: Madera, metal, aceite de palmera
  • Dimensiones: 46,5 x 24,8 x 16,8 cm
  • Crédito: Colección Conmemorativa de Michael C. Rockefeller, legado de Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
  • Número de inventario: 1979.206.229
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

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[Ancestral Figure, Head, Gabon]
Walker Evans
1935
Ngontang (young white girl) helmet mask, Betsi-Fang artist, Wood, pigment, kaolin, Fang peoples
Ngontang (young white girl) helmet mask
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Reliquary, Kota artist, Wood, cane, pigment, raffia palm, leaves, copper alloy, resin, primate skull, spire shell, Kota peoples
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Eyema byeri (reliquary guardian figure), Okak-Fang artist, Wood, copper alloy, palm oil, Okak-Fang peoples
Eyema byeri (reliquary guardian figure)
Okak-Fang artist
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