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Élément sculptural de reliquaire

19th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 344
Cette œuvre, la plus monumentale des têtes autonomes sculptées par les maîtres fang d’Afrique équatoriale au XIXe siècle, appartient à une tradition qui commandait de disposer les sculptures figuratives des ancêtres primordiaux sur l’autel familial portatif contenant des reliques précieuses. Séparée de l’autel au début du XXe siècle, cette sculpture est devenue source d’inspiration pour divers artistes occidentaux. Acquise par le poète chilien Vicente Huidobro, peu après son arrivée à Paris en 1918, elle pourrait être à l’origine du poème « Ecuatorial » qu’il a dédié à Picasso.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Titre: Élément sculptural de reliquaire
  • Date: XIXe siècle–début XXe siècle
  • Aire géographique: Gabon
  • Culture: Peuple fang, groupe betsi
  • Technique: Bois, métal et huile de palme
  • Dimensions: 46,5 x 24,8 x 16,8 cm
  • Crédits: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, legs de Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
  • Accession Number: 1979.206.229
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

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Ngontang (young white girl) helmet mask, Betsi-Fang artist, Wood, pigment, kaolin, Fang peoples
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