Late 19th century
Carved wood and metal
Height: 35.5 cm – 14 in.
Ex Sotheby’s London, 28-30 nov. 1983, lot 185
Possibly Merton Simpson (1928-2013), New York
Ex collection Seymour Lazar, Palm Springs, USA
Erich M. von Hornbostel notes in Fang (Musée Dapper, 1997) that music played a very important role in the life of the Fang. Musical instruments were played to provide the rhythm and underpin the melody of ritual or secular choral songs. Solo or choral songs were accompanied by the flute and the harp. This typology of harp descends from an instrument already known in the time of ancient Egypt.
According to Louis Perrois, all the significant activities of customary life among the Fang had to be conducted under the aegis of the ancestors. This explains why many carved objects were adorned with the face of an ancestor, which was the customary mark of lineage chiefs.
The head finial on a ñgomi harp was a reminder that the melody played on the instrument's strings was the « voice » facilitating contact with the world of the spirits and the deceased.
19th karne ya mwisho: ukumbi wa mbao na chuma, urefu wa 35.5 cm. "Sotheby's London, Nov. 28, 1983, lot 185 ""Must be Merton Simpson, 1928-2013, New York, Ex Collection Seymour Lazar, Palm Springs, USA"" - Erich M. von Hornbostel, ""Fang"" (Musée Dapper, 1997) - anasema kwamba muziki ulicheza jukumu muhimu sana katika maisha ya Fang." Vifaa vya muziki vilitumiwa kutoa mdundo na kuunga mkono muziki wa nyimbo za kidesturi au za kidini. Nyimbo za solo au za kwaya ziliimbwa pamoja na filimbi na kinubi. Aina hii ya kinubi inatokana na ala ya muziki iliyokuwa ikijulikana tayari katika Misri ya kale. Kulingana na Louis Perrois, shughuli zote muhimu za maisha ya kawaida kati ya Fang zilipaswa kufanywa chini ya uangalizi wa mababu. Hii inaeleza kwa nini vitu vingi vilivyokatwa vilipambwa kwa uso wa babu, ambao ulikuwa alama ya kawaida ya wakuu wa ukoo. "Mwisho wa kichwa kwenye kinubi cha ñgomi ulikuwa ukumbusho kwamba wimbo uliopigwa kwenye kamba za ala hiyo ulikuwa ""sauti"" inayohakikisha mawasiliano na ulimwengu wa roho na wafu."