I recently posted a Songye spirit figure (#1012, Aug 27) to remind our collectors that there are other types of African traditional art that would fit well in their collections. Now I’m posting a Kota reliquary figure. Collectors who like African masks often display these as well.
The Kota people live in Gabon in west-central Africa.
Along with several closely related groups, they are renowned for creating distinctive spirit figures that watch over reliquary baskets containing the bones of important ancestors. The face of this reliquary figure is dressed with sheet brass, a precious material that has the power to deflect malevolent forces. It is tacked down with flat, hand-wrought copper nails, and copper lines the upper eyelids. There is no carving or metal on the back.
