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a skull in a wicker basket with a snake in ita teddy bear in a knitted hat on a black backgrounda skull in a wicker basket with a chain around ita small basket with a decorative object inside of ita skull sitting inside of a basket on a black background
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63 - KOTA Decorated Kota skull.
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Estimate €800 - €1,000
Sale commission
Description
KOTA Decorated Kota skull. 20th century. Length: 16 cm. Unlike peoples who concealed bones in baskets topped with a wooden sculpture clad in strips of copper and brass, intended to honour the memory of the ancestor, the Kota sometimes chose to transform an ancestor’s skull directly into a relic enhanced by art. This is the skull of a bonobo, a chimpanzee regarded as a primordial ancestor by the Kota. It is decorated with cowrie shells (Monetaria moneta) using a resin-based adhesive. Traces of red pigment (padauk powder), intended to restore ‘symbolic life’ to the ancestor, are visible around the circle of cowrie shells (Monetaria moneta). The whole piece is presented in a circular woven basket, with a decorative raffia border, itself adorned with cowrie shells (Monetaria moneta) and seeds. Provenance: Pierre Redouin Collection. Description: These skulls, like all other reliquaries, served as instruments of mediation between the invisible and visible worlds, whilst also ensuring the clan’s protection. The display (usually private and reserved for initiates) of these skulls during rites of passage reinforced the family’s prestige.
See original version (French)
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About the sale The Breath of the Spirits: The Collection of Pierre Redouin and Others
Auction location
Auction time 09/24/2026 at 2:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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