Superb Kota Reliquary Figure

S O L D

Superb Kota Reliquary Figure

19^th – early 20^th Century

Provenance:
A. Roth, Basel, Switzerland

Wood, brass sheet, copper nails and -clamps

 High 40 cm. Gabon

Superb Kota Reliquary Figure, this superb mbulu ngulu with elegant proportions and fine details, rises from a pierced diamond base which supports a cylindrical neck beneath an expansive  elliptical head with domed over-arching forehead made of copper and brass above domed eyes inset with metal pupils and small projecting nose over a faint smiling mouth, flanked by curved rectangular flanges and crescent above; fine aged, dark brown patina.

This unique sculpture among African forms was used to protect and demarcate the revered bones of  ancestors. The bones were stored in containers and the mbulu ngulu rested atop this bundle, bound  to it at the figure lozenge-shaped base. Within the Kota society, it is believed that the figurative form  of the mbulu ngulu communicated the reliquary’s intense power.

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.