Fang-Ntumu Reliquary Figure, Gabon

Aimé Maeght, Paris and Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Ader Picard Tajan, Nouveau Drouot, Paris, Collection Aimé Maeght. Haute curiosité, October 25, 1982, lot 139
Edwin and Cherie Silver, Los Angeles, acquired at the above auction

Wendy Goodman, 'L'art, une affaire de famille', Architectural Digest, December 2006/January 2007, p. 96 (archival photograph)

In his discussion of the Fang Ntumu substyle the scholar Louis Perrois observes that "a painstaking comparative study shows that all [Ntumu] statues are different, there being an infinite number of combinations of details and decoration" (Perrois, Fang, 2006, p. 37). There are, however, certain characteristics which define the work of Ntumu artists and which allow us to attribute the present figure to the group, whilst noting some features more associated with the Nzaman-Betsi style.

The elongated form of the torso, which is carved as a long cylinder, is a classic indication of the Ntumu style. In this figure the cylinder, which bisects the strong horizontal line formed by the shoulders and breastbone, continues into a powerful neck which supports the commanding head. The columnar strength of the central passage of the sculpture is contrasted by the slender and lithe limbs, which are nevertheless muscular and well defined. They are clearly separated from the central axis of the figure and provide a lissome outline which conveys a certain alert air. The hands are placed at the protruding navel, paying homage both to the spirit of the dead and reminding us of the bond from one generation to the next, with the fecundity of the lineage further emphasized by the depiction of the sex.

This Fang-Ntumu figure was formerly in the collection of the dealer, collector, and lithographer Aimé Maeght. The eponymous Galerie Maeght was one of the most creative and influential galleries of Modern art and Maeght a seminal figure in the post-war art world. Amongst the artists he represented were Braque, Calder, Giacometti, Matisse, and Miró, and he was one of the first dealers to exhibit Abstract Expressionism in Europe. Maeght’s particular métier was printmaking and publishing, and he encouraged his artists to produce ceramics, prints, and illustrated books. Major exhibitions at the gallery were accompanied by an issue of his magazine Derrière le mirroir, which combined original lithographs alongside essays by leading writers, fulfilling Maeght’s ideal of bringing the work of artist and writer together. As an example, the May 1954 exhibition of sculptures, paintings, and drawings by Alberto Giacometti at the Galerie Maeght was accompanied by an issue of Derrière le miroir with essays by Jean Genet and Jean-Paul Sartre.

The Fang figure is visible on the mantle of Maeght’s apartment in Paris, alongside artworks including Giacometti’s Le chien (1957) and Miró’s Oiseau lunaire (1946).