Reliquary figure - Copper, Wood - Bulu-Ngulu - Bakota - Gabon - 51 cm

Mbulu-ngulu reliquary statue. OLD ROOM, partly covered with white paint. Category IV style 3 of the Louis Perrois classification. Corresponds to the production of the Obamba people. (plural Amba) Ethnic group established on the Sébé river in the South-East of the Bakota. Their customs are very similar and in particular the use of reliquaries surmounted by a flat wooden ancestor figure covered with copper plates. Copper and brass were signs of wealth for the Obamba until the early twentieth century. These metals found the origin of their use in the mines which the ancient inhabitants of Gabon had discovered and which they kept secret as long as possible, until in full period of colonization. The Obamba were accustomed, like the Kota, to place in a hut-sanctuary, out of sight, the bones of the founders of the clan carefully placed in a basket. This basket was, then, surmounted by a figure [of wood] in copper plating. The use of the bone box or basket was very widespread in Gabon.