KOTA NDUMU RELIQUARY FIGURE

Ca. 19th - 20th century AD > A Kota reliquary guardian figure with a flattened face beneath a broad crescent-shaped crest and lateral flanges. The elongated neck descends to an open lozenge-shaped lower section.Kota reliquary guardians were placed above containers holding ancestral remains or sacred family materials. Their shining metal-covered faces and abstracted bodies marked the presence and continuing importance of ancestors. The figure formed part of an ensemble used in maintaining relationships between living families and the deceased. >>Size: 545mm x 190mm; Weight: 1.34kg > Provenance: Private London Collection; Ex. Private UK Collection. >>