File:1229 6138g 4 faced Ngontang Helmet mask, Fang, Gabon (5645646530).jpg

This helmet has a gentle feel. It is a little weathered but still retains its integrity. Measures: 33x29x28cm

One interpretation of Fang four-faced masks (Ngontang) relates to the four phases of the human condition: birth, life, illness, and death. Having delicate lines, the faces are invariably white and heart shaped. The white surface may refer to the ancestor’s world or the soul. The mask appears during birth and death ceremonies. Large masks with abstract features and strong pure lines are used in the rituals of a Fang judiciary association, Ngil.

In the 1920s and 1930s, several two-headed or multi-faced helmet masks appeared in some collections. The paired faces, usually of different sizes, are made in a characteristic "Fang" style: oval, concave face, incised eyes, pouting mouth, whitish clay coating and anatomical details outlined in black. Called nlo-ngontang (a contraction of the expression nlo ngon ntanga, literally "the face of the daughter of the white man" , borrowed in the early 20th century from the Myene language, in which the word otangani means "white European" ), they were used to denounce evil witchdoctors, because they were entities from the world of the spirits, able to see everything with two or even four pairs of eyes. By fighting against the menace of evus witchcraft, ngontang masks took part in the social regulation of Fang villages in the early 20th century. Less sought after than the two previous types, because they were mass produced in the 30s, especially in Gabon, a certain number of these objects are nonetheless beautifully made. Examples are the ngontang in the collection of Paul Guillaime then Helena Rubenstein (displayed in the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1935 and now in the Detroit Institute of Arts), that in the former Museum of Primitive Art, New York (Metropolitan Museum of Art) and the mask of Joseph Mueller (Musee Barbier-Mueler, Geneva, 1935). Extract from Visions of Africa, FANG. Louis Perrois

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Ann Porteus Sidewalk Tribal Gallery 19-21 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point 7004 Hobart Tasmania Australia ann@sidewalkgallery.com.au sidewalktribal.com t: 613 6224 0331