H x W x D: 30.5 x 11.6 x 10.2 cm (12 x 4 9/16 x 4 in.)
Type:
Figure
Geography:
Gabon
Date:
Early 20th century
Label Text:
Stylized heads have been attributed to both the Tsogo and the Vuvi. They probably were reliquary guardians. While little is known of the Vuvi, the Tsogo carved relatively naturalistic half figures to guard the relics of individual ancestors. The brass forehead strip and arched eyebrows are features shared by those figures and this type of head. The head's convex-concave face, triangular nose, almond-shaped eyes and mouth and transverse crest coiffure are also found on other Tsogo objects, such as gongs.
Description:
Stylized flat faced head with almond shaped eyes and mouth, triangular nose, arched eyebrows, transverse crest coiffure with traingular wedged back, punched brass strips on forehead and neck, metal earrings and red pigment.
A Personal Journey: Central African Art from the Lawrence Gussman Collection, Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY, September 30, 2001-January 13, 2002; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK, February 10-April 7, 2002; National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 29, 2001-August 14, 2002
New Acquisitions: Gifts from the Lawrence Gussman Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., December 14, 1998-May 5, 1999
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