Mask: Ngontang
Artist: Fang Peoples (African)
Date: 1875-1900
Dimensions:
H. 17 in. (43.2 cm), W. 11 1/2 in. (29.2 cm).
Medium: Carved wood with pigment
Place of Origin: Gabon
Classification: Sculpture
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1958.16
Label Text:This mask is derived from a type called ngontang, once used by Fang peoples to celebrate the visitation of spirits upon the living. The whiteness of the mask—associated with death, otherworldliness, and states of transition—represented the otherness of the spirit world for the Fang peoples. This particular example, however, was probably never used by Fang people themselves. The mask was made before 1900 as part of a group of masks for sale to foreigners, and then came into the possession of two early Modernist European artists, Maurice Vlaminck and André Derain, whose work was influenced by African sculpture in transforming and enduring ways (look for works by Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani and other European and American artists influenced by African art in neighboring galleries).
On view
In Collection(s)