Reliquary guardian figure "mbulu" or "mwete" ·  Gabon, Kota · ID: 3038216

Description

wood, brass sheet, copper nails and -clamps, an oval hollowed face, enlivened by metal plating from various materials, characteristic sickle-shaped coiffure and projections on both sides, the neck merging into a fragmentary diamond-shaped handle, which originally was inserted in the lid of the skull receptacle, min. dam., traces of insect caused damage (back), small missing parts, cracks, slight traces of 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.