Fang Male Ancestor Figure

This highly typical figure can be regarded as the archetype of the Ngumba style, with its rounded forms and recurrent traits - the large head, spherical skull and convex forehead, as well as the large eyes, conical nose and opened oblong mouth. At the heart of the composition is the vertical "medicine horn” held in both hands. The seated posture of the figure accommodates its original placement on the rim of a receptacle, that guards the sacred relics of venerable ancestors of the family, for the byeri cult. A dominant feature of the Ngumba style is the extensive use of metal incrustations, but the most extravagant feature is undoubtedly, the crown of feathers in the coiffure (L. Perrois, Fang 2006:35 pl. 9).