Reliquary figure "mbulu" or "mwete" · Gabon, Kota · ID: 3041726
Aaron Furman, New York, 1970s
Christie’s London, 18 March 1980, lot 315
Richard Rüegg, Zurich, Switzerland
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 2June 2012, lot 198
Walter Schmidt, Würzburg/Innsbruck, Germany/Austria
Description
wood, brass and copper sheet, metal nails and -clamps, an oval hollowed face, enlivened by metal plating from various materials, typical sickle-shaped coiffure and projections on both sides, the neck merging into a diamond-shaped handle, which originally was inserted in the lid of the skull receptacle, rep., min. dam., minor missing parts through insect caused damage, slight traces of corrosion;
the ancestral cult forms the centre of the religious and social life within the family collective. When a patriarch died various relics were taken from his body and were kept in wickerwork baskets “usuwu” with stylized figures on top. Each family clan owned such a reliquary ensemble, which were all kept in the background of the chiefs hut. At initiation rites the family clans gathered and each clan leader performed a dance holding the respective reliquary in his hands.
Comparing literature
Lagamma, Alisa (ed.), Eternal Ancestors, New York 2007, p. 256, ill. 80
Publications
African Art Collection Samuel Dubiner, Tel Aviv 1960; African Art Collection Samuel Dubiner, Jerusalem 1960; African Art Collection of Samuel Dubiner, Tokyo 1961AHDRC: 0047627
Exhibition
African Art Collection Samuel Dubiner, Tel Aviv Museum, January 1960; African Art Collection Samuel Dubiner, Bezalel National Museum, Jerusalem, 7 August - 7 October 1960; African Art Collection of Samuel Dubiner, Tokyo, National Museum, 31 June 1961