Mokenge Gong, Vuvi, Gabon
Wood, pigments, metal, kaolin
H. 46cm
Provenance:
André Fourquet, Paris
Galerie Künzi, Solothurn, acquired on Januar 25th 1971
Joseph Herman, London
Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels
Hippoliet Verbeemen, Bonheiden
Publication:
Elsy Leuzinger, Die Kunst von Schwarz-Afrika, Kunsthaus Zürich, 1970, p. 258, Nr. R19
Price:
14’000 CHF
This mokenge ritual gong – in style more Vuvi than Tsogho – belongs to a restricted corpus of sculptures made before 1920 when the blacksmith lost his high social position. Its body and arms are indicated by the metal gong and the white kaolin pigments.
Exhibited in 1970 in the Kunsthaus Zürich, it was at that time part of the collection of André Fourquet, one of the great connoisseurs of the art of Gabon.