In this video [2:58] Met curator Alisa LaGamma on ancestral worship and mortality in Figure from a Reliquary Ensemble: Seated Female by the Fang peoples of Gabon or Equatorial Guinea, 19th-early 20th century. The Fang peoples derive a sense of continuity with their past as well as a communal cohesiveness in the present through an ancestral cult known as bieri. Bieri reliquary figures, such as this 19th century example, embody the qualities that the Fang admire most in people, namely: tranquility, vitality, and the ability to hold opposites in balance.

Concepts

sculpture

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Additional Tags

bieri, fang peoples, figurative sculpture, figure from a reliquary ensemble: seated female, khan academy, metropolitan museum of art, wooden statue

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Classroom Considerations

• Knovation Readability Score: 4 (1 low difficulty, 5 high difficulty)