Reliquary figure "mbulu" or "mwete" ·  Gabon, Kota · ID: 3034901

Description

wood, metal sheet and -tags, oval hollowed face with parallel incisions, the sickle-shaped eyes and the triangular nose worked separately, the neck merging into a diamond-shaped handle, which was inserted into the lid of the skull receptacle, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion and corrosion, base;
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.

L’objet Reliquary figure “mbulu” or “mwete” avec l’ID d’objet 3034901 a fait partie de la dernière vente aux enchères 73rd tribal art auction dans 25 mai 2013 le Zemanek-Münster Hôtel des ventes. L’objet portant le numéro de lot 323 a atteint un prix de vente de 4 200 €.

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Littérature comparée

Perrois, Louis, Arts du Gabon, Paris 1979, ill. 200