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139 - OBAMBA RELIQUARY FIGURE
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Estimate €1,500 - €2,500
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Description
OBAMBA RELIQUARY FIGURE Gabon, Haut-Ogooué region, Kota people. First third of the 20th century. Thick wooden core veneered with decorated sheets and strips of copper and brass. Height: 54 cm (plus plinth) Provenance: Collection of a couple of scholars from Lyon, by inheritance The concave, almond-shaped face is divided into four quarters. On the two brass bands crossing at the centre of the face are attached half-moon eyes and a triangular nose. The side sections end in curls shaped like a duck’s tail. The neck and upper parts of the diamond-shaped body are plated with copper, decorated with chevrons and grooves. The crescent is classical in style, adorned in the centre with a geometric motif. On the reverse, a motif is carved in relief. The base of the wooden diamond-shaped body has a patina. Devotion to the relics of the dead is one of the characteristics of the religions of many peoples in Gabon. Ancestors are made to feel even more present when their bones are carefully preserved, forming the subject of specific rites. The use of bone boxes was widespread in the Congo and Gabon, particularly amongst the so-called Kota people. The Kota are the only people in this region to use metal decoration covering almost the entire wooden frame. These types of portable tombs were displayed on many occasions: during the initiation of young people, the clan families would gather, bringing their reliquaries. On other occasions, the rites performed by the clan chief were intended to promote women’s fertility and the fertility of the land, or to ensure bountiful hunting and fishing, or even to aid in therapeutic treatments. Experts: Messrs Dodier and Meyer
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About the sale Tableware, Non-European Art and Furniture and Works of Art
Auction location
Auction time 11/05/2026 at 2:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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