A very old and rare Ndjobi black mask from the great forest - Lot 29

A very old and rare Ndjobi black mask from the great forest of central Gabon, this black mask stands out in the narrow Vuvi corpus. Its rectangular shape, found on the mask by Jean-Claude Andrault (1925-2014), is enhanced by a wide rounded band ending in a point on the sides (Art Tribal, n° 67, Spring 2013, p. 102). Like the mask in the former Hubert Goldet collection, the facial features are concentrated, the face almost flat, the eyebrows long and curved, and the almond-shaped eyes stretched to the temples. The nose is short and conical, while the round mouth features filed teeth. Traces of red can be seen beneath the shiny patina caused by powdered charcoal, palm oil and copal. The very rare black masks are at the heart of secret societies and are associated with justice. A 1953 photo by R. P. Delègue, a Spiritan missionary in Koulamoutou, shows this Vuvi mask wearing rooster feathers and an antelope horn, with the caption "Figuration of the Ndjobi among the Masango". The Ndjobi was a secret society in Haut-Ogooué which, like the Mwiri, was responsible for social and religious affairs and maintaining public order. The black mask amidst human and animal skulls refers to its role in communicating with the spirits of the deceased and acting as an intermediary between the earth and the afterlife. The Masango, in their secular migration, accompanied the Vuvi; at the time of European penetration, around 1908, these two peoples, having formed matrimonial alliances, shared the same clans and lineages. They practice the same rites and use similar masks. Exhibited in 2017 at the musée du quai Branly, Les forêts natales, this superb black mask belonged to Han Coray (1880-1974), the Swiss dealer-collector of African art who hosted the "Première exposition dada. Cubists, Negro Art" in his Zurich gallery. By agreement with the author Charlotte Grand-Dufay art historian, March 2018. See: for the photo of this mask taken in 1953 by R.P. Delègue in Tsogho Les Icônes du Bwiti, Goy, 2016 p. 98 Vuvi, Gabon Wood, wooden tenons, old pigments, minor wear and minor old accidents, old crack on the back, very fine old oxidation of the wood and very fine old patina. H. Height : 34 cm Provenance : Han Coray Collection (1880-1974), Lugano, ca. 1968 (inv. no. 262) Leopold Haefliger Collection (1929-1989), Lucerne Transmitted by descent Private collection, USA Charles Moreau, New York Jean-Claude and Christine L'Herbette Collection, Paris Publications and exhibitions : Morigi, Meisterwerke altafrikanischer Kultur aus der Sammlung Casa Coray, 1968, no. 79 Loudmer, Paris, December 10, 1990, no. 299 Grand Dufay, "Les Vuvi et leurs masques", Tribal Art, no. 67, Spring 2013, p. 102, no. 21 Goy, Tsogho, les icônes du Bwiti, 2016, p. 98-99, n° 71-72 Le Fur et alii, Les forêts natales. Arts d'Afrique équatoriale atlantique, 2017, p. 133, n° 265, Paris, musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, October 3, 2017 - January 21, 2018 Sotheby's, Paris, June 13 2018, no. 36