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a wooden statue of a man with a cigarette in his moutha wooden statue of a man with a head and hands on his chesta wooden statue of a man standing on a black backgroundan old wooden statue of a monkey with a black backgroundan old wooden statue of a woman with her mouth opena wooden statue of a man standing next to a piece of paperan old wooden statue of a man with his mouth open and eyes wide opena wooden statue of a man with a beard and a mustache
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Estimate €1,000 - €1,500
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Description
TSOGO Tsogho ghéonga statue. From Seka-Seka, a village near Mimongo (Gabon). 20th century. Height: 52 cm. Hardwood. A dark patina covers the white kaolin and red plaster originally applied (presumably applied to desacralise the statuette: the dark colour brings it back to the material world). The headdress features black-dyed plaits. Provenance: Pierre Redouin Collection. Bibliography: Published in *Le Souffle des Esprits*, Les Éditions de l’Amateur, Pierre & Hadrien Redouin, 2012, p. 182. Description: Geongha statues are the objects most ‘imbued with spiritual significance’ in the Tsogho ritual tradition. Whilst masks are fleeting apparitions of a spirit from the afterlife, the géongha statue is a permanent presence, an anchor that anchors the ancestor’s spirit at the heart of the temple. For the primary role of the géongha is to watch over the material remains of an ancestor. It is the idealised portrait of a specific, remarkable ancestor, the guardian of the group’s identity. It bears a name, upon which the group’s genealogical memory is imprinted. It is rarely found in isolation, for the more remarkable ancestors a village has, the more powerful it is. The statue is traditionally placed on top of the woven fibre basket containing the bones of an illustrious member of the lineage. It serves as a visual conduit. The ancestor’s spirit dwells within the basket (through its bones), but it expresses itself and gazes out through the wooden statue. Its form evokes vigilance. The face features a broad, domed forehead covered in white kaolin. The diamond-shaped eyes, inlaid with a pearl, have a white background symbolising the vision the geongha possesses in the afterlife. The legs are bent, in a tense posture, ready to spring. The hands are held against the abdomen. The patina bears the marks of a rich ritual life, as the statue is nourished during every major ceremony to renew its power. The geongha is an active agent within the village. It is consulted by the bwiti master for advice on an illness, a land dispute or an upcoming hunt. Placed in the nzimba (the sanctuary at the back of the temple), it prevents the forces of witchcraft from approaching the clan’s sacred relics. Through the ghéonga, the ancestors convey various omens in dreams to an interpreter (koke). For this reason, each hand holds a candle. During the bwiti, at the ancestral rite, the géongha is often placed atop the skull of one of the village clan’s leaders (kumu-a-mboka) and held in place by a black raffia loincloth (ebundi) which wraps around the skull and the base of the ghéonga.
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About the sale The Breath of the Spirits: The Collection of Pierre Redouin and Others
Auction location
Auction time 09/24/2026 at 2:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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