Traditional art in Gabon exhibits a spectacular diversity of styles, including the most abstract and the most naturalistic of the African continent.

I lived there from 1994 to 1999, travelling across much of the country on the laterite roads or by small aircraft, enjoying the people, the landscapes and the wildlife. I have published on a number of aspects of traditional material culture and the wildlife.

Manatees and gorillas: http://lifeartearth.blogspot.com/2013/04/gabon-manatees-gorillas-and-paul-du.html

Forest elephants: http://lifeartearth.blogspot.com/2014/02/forest-elephants-of-gabon.html

Whales: http://lifeartearth.blogspot.com/2014/09/lobtailing-spyhopping-and-breaching-in.html

La Lope: http://lifeartearth.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-visit-to-equatorial-african-wildlife.html

Fang axes: https://lifeartearth.blogspot.com/2022/01/a-fang-axe-and-accounts-by-du-chaillu.html?m=1

Fang short swords: https://lifeartearth.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-art-of-fang-short-sword.html

Fang broad knives: https://lifeartearth.blogspot.com/2022/04/a-distinctive-19th-century-fang-knife.html

Traditional pipes: https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7888335347243907944/7068813687305001738

We witnessed a number of masquerade dances in the south (Balumbu and Bapunu), in the Lambarene area (Galoa) and east (Bateke). We brought back a few sculptures and masks to represent the various ethnies, several of these newly made (and some danced), others old and battered. 19th century pieces were added back in Europe.

I submitted a paper on a new typology of the Fang swords in April 2022, which involved an enjoyable deep dive into the earliest reports in English, French and German, a new typology and constraints on dating.