What are Fang masks used for?
What are Fang masks used for?
Fang masks, such as those worn by itinerant troubadours and for hunting and punishing sorcerers, are painted white with facial features outlined in black. Typical are large, elongated masks covered with kaolin and featuring a face that was usually heart-shaped with a long, fine nose.
When were Fang Ngil masks made?
Fang people, Gabon1800/1900 Masks of this elongated type were worn by members of the powerful religious and judiciary secret society known as the Ngil, which was widespread among the Northern Fang and others to the southeast of them (the Fang are a subgroup of the Pangwe people).
What is Fang mask?
African Fang masks The Fang people use masks when playing out traditional ceremonies such as weddings and funerals and will often been seen in traditional dance wearing masks when they are persecuting wrongdoers. The masks is unique to the Fang people and a must for African collectors.
What do Punu masks represent?
Okuyi masks represent spirits of the dead in Punu funeral performances. Wearing an Okuyi mask and dancing on tall stilts, the performer elevates the spirit above the living. White pigment applied to the mask signifies peace and the afterlife.
How is a Fang mask decorated?
Along with their fine sculpture, the Fang expressed themselves through bodily decoration. Common characteristics of male tribal decoration are teeth filed to points and sometimes blackened, long plaited hair decorated with white beads and copper or irons rings on the ends, and feather headdresses.
Where is the Fang mask from?
Gabon
‘ Ngil masks were worn by the Fang people in Gabon and have long been considered to be one of the ‘holy grails’ of African art.
Who wore the PUNU mask?
Among iconic works of African art, the Punu masks are one of the most desirable. Since the beginning of the beginning of the 20th century, collectors, dealers and artists were fascinated by their powerful interiority. These masks were worn by dancers standing on high stilts during funerary ceremonies called mukudja.
How do I identify an African mask?
Check the back of the mask for wear, including the holes for fastening the mask on the face. The wearer does a lot of moving in his dances, and contact between body and wood can leave sweat and oil stains. 2. Look for wear from forehead, cheeks, chins and noses.
Why is Africa called the Dark Continent?
The Dark Continent was named so because it was unexplored by the Europeans and because of the savagery that was expected to be found on the continent. Complete answer:The term Dark Continent was used to refer to Africa by a British explorer Henry M. Stanley in his book.
Where are the Fang people located?
Equatorial Guinea
Fang, also spelled Fãn, Bantu-speaking peoples occupying the southernmost districts of Cameroon south of the Sanaga River, mainland Equatorial Guinea, and the forests of the northern half of Gabon south to the Ogooué River estuary. They numbered about 3,320,000 in the late 20th century.
Where do the Fang people wear their Ngil masks?
Ngil masks were worn by the Fang people in Gabon and have long been considered to be one of the ‘holy grails’ of African art.
What kind of masks do people wear in Central Africa?
Central African masks display a variety of styles, some of which are shared across regions and cultures as a part of continuing trade and political exchanges, such as between the Luba and Songye or the Kete and Mbagani peoples.
What was the highest price ever paid for a Ngil mask?
Ngil masks were worn by the Fang people in Gabon and have long been considered to be one of the ‘holy grails’ of African art. In 2006, a Ngil mask from the Vérité Collection made auction history by selling for €5.5 million — at the time, and for several years thereafter, the highest price ever for an African work of art at auction.
Why do the kete and Mbagani wear masks?
The masks of both the Kete and the Mbagani are notable for their concise, geometric forms. Among the Mbagani, the huge eyes are associated with the ancestral spirits they worship, and the masks are worn at rites to promote successful hunting or female fertility.