Reliquary guardian figure "mbulu-ngulu" · Gabon, Kota · ID: 3035573
Philippe and Lisa Laeremans, Liège, Belgium
Description
wood, metal sheet and tags, enlivened by metal plating from various materials, typical sickle-shaped coiffure and projections on both sides, the neck merging into a diamond-shaped handle (fragmentary), min. dam., slight traces of corrosion, small missing parts at the back, socle;
the Kota used to fix these stylized head sculptures on top of boxes containing the skulls and bones of important ancestors. They should protect the valuable contents. Housed on a shelf outside the village, the figure was carefully polished with sand to maintain its shining surface which should keep sorcerers away.
The object Reliquary guardian figure “mbulu-ngulu” with the object ID 3035573 was last part of the auction 74th tribal art auction at September 7, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 301.
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Comparing literature
Perrois, Louis, Kota Ancestors, Paris 2011, p. 51, ill. 12