A standing wooden figure, 110 cm tall, from the Fang of Gabon. Beads, cords and further attachments hang from it, and it is set on a long plain shaft.

1. Form and Attachments

The carved figure is small in proportion to what surrounds it. The face is heart-shaped, with narrow slit eyes, a slender nose and a closed mouth, and a full, rounded mass of brown fibre frames the head like a mane. Strings of beads lie around the neck and across the chest. The arms are bent, the fists held at the waist, where cords are wound thickly around the hips. The figure stands in a woven cup, which holds further attached objects, among them blade-shaped pieces and horn-like forms. A dark, woven strip hangs behind the body, and a twisted ring of cord or wire projects at one side.

2. Use and Context

The collection catalogue describes the piece as a stick-like fetish that was apparently rammed into the earth during rituals. The many magical elements hanging from the figure are the source of its supernatural power. The catalogue stresses that firm belief in this power is required, and that fetishes remain important among groups living in large, often remote forest regions.

3. Surface

The carved body is smooth and brown with a soft sheen, while the fibres and cords are matt. The shaft below is lighter, plain and weathered, with a lengthwise crack near its lower end.

Summary

A fetish figure whose power, according to the catalogue, lies in the many elements attached to it.