Masterful reliquary - Hardwood, brass - eyema o byeri - Fang-Mabea - Southern Cameroon

Provenance: private collection of Alexandre Dalbron, pilot in the French armed forces, France, private collection of Jean Marc Jaquin, Paris, private collection of the director, Ethnogalerie Museum S, Austria. A very similar Mabea figure could be seen in the exhibition at Le Quai Branly from the collection of Felix Feneon, you will find part of a photo with text among the photos! ! ! ! The workmanship of the figure suggests a great age, you can clearly see the delicate notches made with a small knife; rough leaves rather than sandpaper were probably used for the finish, sandpaper would have completely eradicated the texture of the carving. A wonderful patina and colour tone from its age suffuse this extraordinary figure, lending it the tremendous charisma of a masterpiece. Byeri relic figures are certainly the most mysterious and symbolic in African art. The cult of the Byeri (ancestor worship) was practiced in all Fang villages, both in the south of Cameroon as well as in Gabon and Rio Muni. For the Fang, the Byeri are akin to the ancestor cult, especially with regards to the relics dedicated to them. The Byeri classified their objects of worship. According to Perrois, relics, wooden figures and personal relics were found behind the bed of the head of the family. He also points out that the important dead members of the family line could also be buried in the room of the head of the family, in order to protect their remains! These relics consisted of two parts: - a bark box containing bone relics, which the Fang call nsekh o byeri, ‘the belly’, - and the upright figure towering over the box: eyema o byeri, meaning ‘the head’. With regards to the contents of the boxes, Perrois explains, that Fang relics consisted of skulls, long bones and even simple pieces of bone and teeth. Several months after the death of the noteworthy individual, the family relics were carefully identified, removed, cleaned and dried, and sometimes decorated with metal inlays - copper, for example. They were taken out of the bark boxes at regular intervals and venerated with the application of a red paste (padauk wood powder mixed with oil) . The father would then summon the ancestors to further their desire for happiness, wealth and fertility. The small Byeri statues could also be used as marionettes during the melan rituals. We found the familiar wooden figures on a chest of sewn bark. Either just the heads with the shaft stuck into the lid, or statues in the base, sitting at the edges. Once in a blue moon, these statues might have incorporated discrete inclusions with magical powers behind the eyes studded with copper or mirrors, under the ears or on top of the forehead. Bone fragments or as was usually the case, human molars, were also added. From the book ‘Fang de Perrois’, F Continents Editions.