Janushead of a reliquary ensemble "bwete" ·  Gabon, Kota-Obamba · ID: 3034787

Description

wooden core, coated with various pieces of copper sheet, attached with metal clamps which are arranged like fine seams, the separate worked half-spherical eyes and tapering noses fixed with nails, metal collar around the neck, elaborate work, in good condition, block-like socle;
the Shamaye and the neighbouring Obamba used wooden heads of small size, like the present, for their reliquary ensembles.

Expertise

Galerie Le Cabinet de Curieux, Thierry Ruby, Paris, France

Littérature comparée

Paudrat, Jean-Louis, The Way of the Ancestors, Paris 1986, ill. 38 a, b