Reliquary guardian figure "mbulu-ngulu" · Gabon, Kota · ID: 3038920
Francois Boucher, France
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, min. dam., fine cracks and traces of insect caused damage at the back, base;
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 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.
The object Reliquary guardian figure “mbulu-ngulu” with the object ID 3038920 was last part of the auction 80th Tribal Art Auction at June 27, 2015 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 392.
You can find more Figures and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.
Comparing literature
Perrois, Louis, Kota Ancestors, Paris 2011, p. 53