MBÉDÉ
MBÉDÉ
A pair of Mbédé (or Ambété) reliquaries belonging to warlords.
From Tsama (near Okondja, Gabon). 20th century.Height: 77 cm.Two IR spectroscopy dating certificates (G. Matthaes patent) from the Museo d’Arte e Scienza, Milan, nos. 6AF-3667 and 6AF-3668, indicate the dates 1935 ± 8 years and 1940 ± 8 years.Semi-hard wood with a kaolin patina on the body. The headdress is stained black, a colour symbolising the material world. The body is stained with white kaolin, a colour symbolising the invisible world. The legs are stained red, a colour symbolising the life force. The dorsal cavity, which has never been opened, has retained its lid, secured by a wicker ligament (ondi). It contains fragments of bone (tibia and clavicle, the weight-bearing bones of the skeleton) which are still present in the reliquary and visible on fluoroscopy (see X-rays supplied with the piece).Mortises carved into the eardrums bear witness to the use of these reliquaries as puppets during initiation ceremonies, where young initiates were taught the history of their clan.
MBÉDÉ
A pair of Mbédé (or Ambété) reliquaries belonging to warlords.
From Tsama (near Okondja, Gabon). 20th century.Height: 77 cm.Two IR spectroscopy dating certificates (G. Matthaes patent) from the Museo d’Arte e Scienza, Milan, nos. 6AF-3667 and 6AF-3668, indicate the dates 1935 ± 8 years and 1940 ± 8 years.Semi-hard wood with a kaolin patina on the body. The headdress is stained black, a colour symbolising the material world. The body is stained with white kaolin, a colour symbolising the invisible world. The legs are stained red, a colour symbolising the life force. The dorsal cavity, which has never been opened, has retained its lid, secured by a wicker ligament (ondi). It contains fragments of bone (tibia and clavicle, the weight-bearing bones of the skeleton) which are still present in the reliquary and visible on fluoroscopy (see X-rays supplied with the piece).Mortises carved into the eardrums bear witness to the use of these reliquaries as puppets during initiation ceremonies, where young initiates were taught the history of their clan.
