Reliquary bust "mbumba bwiti" · Gabon, Tsogho · ID: 3047944
Eduardo Uhart, Paris, France
Description
wood, dark red paint, pigments, metal, shell / snail shell, base
These busts were used in rituals of the “bwiti” initiation society as part of the ancestor cult “mombe”.
They were placed in baskets containing human bones and magical substances and were supposed to guard the precious contents. They were kept in the men’s house together with ancestor figures “gheonga”.
The object Reliquary bust “mbumba bwiti” with the object ID 3047944 was last part of the auction 96th Auction at April 24, 2021 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 272 achieved a sales price of EUR 3,500.
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Comparing literature
Phillips, Tom (Hg.), Afrika, Die Kunst eines Kontinents, Berlin 1996, p. 315 Goy, Bertrand, Tsogho, Paris 2016, p. 93
Publications
AHDRC: 0050103