Reliquary Figure (Byeri) PDF

CREDIT LINE Name/Title of work- always underlined Artist/Architect- Who created it? Date- When was it created? Period- When? Cultural and time reference Original Location- Where was it originally placed? Museum- Where is it now? Patron- Did someone pay for this to be created? Material...

CREDIT LINE Name/Title of work- always underlined Artist/Architect- Who created it? Date- When was it created? Period- When? Cultural and time reference Original Location- Where was it originally placed? Museum- Where is it now? Patron- Did someone pay for this to be created? Material/Technique (media)- What is it made of? How was it created?  F.F.C.S.I. Think of it as if you’re investigating the artwork! Form- Is this 2D, 3D, sculpture in the round, or architecture? Function- What is its purpose? What was it made to be used for, or do? Apply “URPHEIA” Here. Style- How are you able to tell that this piece can be classified under this artist, culture, period, art movement, etc...? Context- WHY? What was happening during this time that caused this piece to be created? Influences/Ideas- What led up to the creation of this piece? How did this work reflect the ideas during this time in history, and allow it to be a product of its time?  U.R.P.H.E.I.A. UTILITARIAN – functional or useful items (i.e. containers, furniture, jewelry, etc. RELIGIOUS- items made for worship, veneration, ceremonies, rituals, festivals, procession, or burial rites. POLITICAL- items meant to comment on social or political issues; wars, social injustice, propagandizing leaders or to change public opinion. HISTORICAL- records historical events ECONOMIC- art made for financial gain or as a result of a wealthy patron. INFORMATION- to teach or inform; carry on a cultural tradition or moral to future generations. AESTHETICS- for the joy or search for beauty, art for arts sake. 179. Reliquary figure (byeri) Fang peoples (southern Cameroon). c. 19th to 20th century ce. Wood Khan Academy Link FORM The byeri’s expression also contributed to the harmony between opposing qualities. The figures calm, expressionless face presented a sense of tranquillity much admired by the Fang. Yet at the same time, the byeri’s clasped hands, large eyes, and tense muscles project a coiled energy ready to strike out at any threat to the irreplaceable relics stored inside the reliquary FUNCTION The Fang believe that their ancestors could continue to wield power from the afterlife. It thus became imperative to preserve the remains of great men who founded lineages and great women who gave birth to numerous healthy children. The Fang prepared cylindrical bark containers or reliquaries to conserve skulls and other prized ancestral relics. They could then consult the relics on significant matters such as where to locate a village, how to prevent an illness and when to fight a battle. Because of their great spiritual power, the relics required additional protection. This led the Fang to attach wooden guardian figures known as byeri to the top of each reliquary. From this secure position, byeri could protect the sacred relics from evil spirits and from the forbidden gaze of women and uninitiated boys. The guardian sculptures also played an important role in ritual ceremonies. During these occasions, clan leaders use the byeri as puppets to help instruct boys about the history of their people. CONTENT The reliquary figures sit in a crouched position with knees bent, muscles bulging, hands clasped together, and holding a figure of the ancestor in its hands. The sculpture’s genitalia are visible (this example is clearly male, but others are female). Beads and other medicinal items are stored along with the ancestors’ remains in the box as the byeri stands guard against any negative forces that might want to sneak in. The relics are brought out during male initiation ceremonies, where the sculptures are processed about and the skulls are revealed for all to see, at which point the accomplishments of the ancestor are recited. CONTEXT The Fang lived in the dense rainforests of Equatorial Africa. During a period of over three centuries, they slowly migrated into present-day Southern Cameroon and Northern Gabon. Their gradual village by village movement created a migratory culture that valued portable objects such as the reliquary figure Illustrated here. The religion of the Fang is a belief system primarily emphasizing ancestor worship, which explains the importance of relics. These ancestors are believed to retain and even gain authority from beyond the grave. The bones and skulls were especially potent in determining the future of the family. These objects encapsulated sacred power, which they use to help guide their descendants. These reliquary figures are not ancestral relics themselves, but instead stand guard over ancestral relics. They are positioned on top of a bark box where an ancestors skull is kept. The figures are either portraits of the deceased family member or his or her protector. INNOVATION/CONVENTIONS Rather than burying their dead, the Fang peoples were migratory, so they would keep the skulls and relics of their ancestors inside of bark cylindrical boxes. These reliquary figures would be placed on top as protective figures. ARTISTIC DECISIONS Fang sculptors did not create byeri as a portrait of a specific ancestor. Instead, it embodied a complex but harmonious combination of contrasting traits. For example, this byeri juxtaposed the large head of an infant with the bulging muscles of an adult. This union of juvenile and adult characteristics underscored the continuity between infants, adults, and ancestors. Newborn traits such as a prominent belly button and a high domed forehead emphasized an ongoing life cycle in which infants form a crucial link between the living and the dead. INTERPRETATION During the late 1800’s, French Colonial officials banned byeri as unacceptable idols contradicting the biblical injunction against graven images. Forced to comply with this demand the Fang destroyed many byeri and sold others to Western collectors. Today, the surviving byeri have a new function in museums, where visitors and students can admire the Fang sculptor’s abstract interpretation of the human form. DETAILS/ TERMS/ DEFINITIONS