Reliquary (1) - wood, copper, brass, nails - Mbulu Ngulu - Bakota - Gabon

A KOTA RELIQUARY FIGURE Mbulu Ngulu, GABON First half of the 20th Century, Bakota people, guardian reliquary figure, standing on the upper part of an openwork lozenge-shaped base, incised with a detailed geometric pattern, the large ovoid face flanked by shallow triangular flanges, and surmounted by a crescentic coiffure, adorned with five hand forged, large irregular nails, the upper part of the figure covered in thin brass / copper sheets, the face is divided into four quadrants of diagonal bands of copper pinched at the ends to create raised inner borders, with applied circular convex eyes made of bone, and a pointed nose. Size: 49cm high, (55cm high inc. base) Provenance: Private Family Collection, Berlin; Chiswick Auctioneers, London, UK Private Collection, London UK