Wholesale Antique Fang Ngil Society Mask, Gabon African Art Deco

The Fang people, also known as Fãn or Pahouin, are a Bantu ethnic group found in Equatorial Guinea northern Gabon, and southern Cameroun. Masks of this elongated type were worn by members of the powerful religious and judiciary secret society known as the Ngil, which was widespread among the Northern Fang and others to the southeast of them. The Fang is a subgroup of the Pangwe people. Well known for their reliquary figures the Fang also danced finely sculpted masks during several ritual activities. Among the Fang white-painted masks identified with the Ngil society are known for their elegant abstractions of the human face. Ngil masks have been described as having a 'heart-shaped face' due to the facial features emphasizing refined curves of the orbital ridges above the eyes and the prominent line of the long tapering nose that ended above a discrete mouth. Carved at the bottom of the chin that completes the abstraction of the face. Ngil masks were worn during initiations and were known for judicial and social control activities in searching out sorcerers. The diameter is 12 inches high, 8 inches wide, and 5 inches thick. Note: The picture is an exact representation of the item.