Reliquary guardian figure "mbulu-ngulu" ·  Gabon, Kota · ID: 3035573

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.

Comparing literature

Perrois, Louis, Kota Ancestors, Paris 2011, p. 51, ill. 12