A beautiful, ancient female statue with a morphology charact - Lot 80

A beautiful, ancient female statue with a morphology characteristic of the statuary of the peoples of the Ngounié region of southern Gabon (Eshira, Eveia, Pindji and Tsogho), distinguished by the high quality of its sculpture and its rare dark, shiny patina with ochre highlights. The dynamic pose - semi-bent legs accentuating the arch of the loins, shoulders stretched forward to release the movement of the arms folded in front of the abdomen - announces the strength and elegance of the head. Every line, from the stretched neck to the metal ornaments, accentuates the visual impact. The strength of the angular face is redoubled by the acuity of the gaze - the large, obliquely profiled copper eyes, the signified pupil. The rectangular shape of the base, into which the ends of the legs merge, might suggest that the sculpture originally adorned the top of an ana-a-ndembe votive pillar in a temple of bwiti, the common religion of the peoples of central and southern Gabon (cf. Gollnhofer, Sallée, Sillans, Art et artisanat tsogho, Musée des arts et traditions du Gabon, Orstom, 1975, p. 41, fig. 56). Among the Tsogho of the Mimongo region, these pillars, always in pairs, male and female, were installed to form a kind of altar at the back of the ebanza sanctuary, during ghebenda mourning ceremonies. These representations of humanity's primordial couple, Nzambe Kana, the male ancestor, and Disumba, the mother ancestor - also known as gheonga for the statues themselves - were used for other bwiti rites (mombe ancestor worship or therapeutic practices). It rests on a base by Kichizo Inagaki. Commentary by Louis Perrois, April 2013 Tsogho, Gabon Wood, metal inlays in the eyes, slight surface erosion, fine age cracks, beautiful patina of useOld inventory number inscribed in white ink under the base (no. 22). H. Height : 42 cm Provenance : - Charles Ratton, Paris - Collection Marceau Rivière, Paris Sotheby's, Paris, June 18, 2013, n° 100 - Private collection, Paris Publications and Exhibitions : - Mont-de-Marsan, Musée Despiau-Wlérick, Belles d'Afrique, January 25 - March 30, 2002