A large and rare male statue, most probably Bwiti, with folded arms and seemingly embodying a dance movement. This superb statue testifying to a very ancient art and tradition is comparable in many features (size, posture, arm positions, hairstyle and polychromy) to another large statue in the former Joseph Mueller collection (inv.1019-9) acquired before 1939, also of the same very rare type and also originally not clearly identified. However, the very early, well-defined style of the face of our statue, rediscovered in the former collection of painter André Dunoyer de Ségonzac, seems to link it to Tsogho art. A photo taken in the village of Sindara in 1985 (see p.175 in Goy, Tsogho les Icones du Bwiti), showing a Tsogho initiate entirely covered in kaolin dancing with a large statue in his arms, could confirm the link between these very rare large statues and the movement of our statue, which seems to evoke dance. The rediscovery of this ancient statue in the Dunoyer de Ségonzac collection not only enriches the great inventory of ancient Gabonese art, but also contributes to a better understanding of its history. For the statue given as Baloumbo or Vili in the former Joseph Mueller collection, see p.197 n°22, in Perrois, Art Ancestral du Gabon, Geneva, 1985. Tsogho, Gabon (or Loumbo) Wood, pigments, patina marked by a washout on the back, numerous small holes (xylophagous), restoration of one arm (broken-glued original piece), visible missing parts (old breaks), very fine old oxidation, and very fine old patina from use. Height: 90cm Provenance: A: Collection A. Dunoyer de Segonzac Collection (1884-1974) Passed on by descent