Kota Obamba Reliquary Figure, Gabon

Kota Obamba Reliquary Figure, Gabon
mbulu ngulu
height 24 3/4in (63cm)

Provenance
Eliot Elifson Collection, New York
Edith Gregor Halpert Collection, New York
Nathaly Baum Collection, Washington, D.C.
Private Collection, New York

Published
Robbins, Warren M., African Art in American Collections, Frederick A. Praeger, New York, 1966, p. 1982, fig. 237

Exhibited
Edith Gregor Halpert Collection, Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C., April - May 1969
African Art in American Collection, Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C., May 1972 - March 1973
Elifson Memorial Exhibition, Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C., May 1973 - February 1974

Carved overall from one piece of wood, the upper section flat above a lozenge base; the front applied with hammered and molded copper and brass from the upper section of the lozenge and above; the oval and concave facial plane with crescent eyes, triangular nose and diminutive mouth, topped with a crescent and large rounded flanges on the sides, each with a trapezoidal hanging flange; the metalwork on the neck with a diamond patter between three bands above and below, the upper lozenge base applied with alternating striated triangles; the base and rear with a rich dark-brown patina with encrustations and wear indicative of significant age; attached with screws to the base at the bottom section of the lozenge in back.