Fang Four-Faced Helmet Mask (ngontang), Gabon

Christian Duponcheel, Brussels and New York
Pace Primitive, New York
John Buxton, Dallas, acquired from the above
Myron Kunin, Minneapolis, acquired from the above on February 13, 1986

Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, extended loan, January 19, 1987 - February 1, 1990

Discussing a closely related mask in the Dallas Museum of Art, Walker (2009: 272) notes: "The [Fang groups] Betsi and Ntumu call this type of helmet mask ngontang, a term that is a contraction of nlo ngon ntanga, which means 'face of the daughter of the white man.'  When the Betsi and Ntumu peoples first encountered the Europeans, they believed the Europeans were spirits returned from the world of the dead.  Introduced in the 1920s, the mask has multiple faces with eyes that see everything, and it was a ritual object that fought against malevolent forces such as witchcraft.  [...] It is thought the ngontang replaced the ngil mask, which policed the Fang communities and was banned by the French colonial government."