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320
-
Reliquary figure, Kota Obamba, Gabon
Wood, metal Late 19th –…
See original version (French)
320
-
Reliquary figure, Kota Obamba, Gabon
Wood, metal Late 19th –…
See original version (French)
Estimate €1,500 - €2,500
Voluntary lot
Description
Reliquary figure, Kota Obamba, Gabon
Wood, metal
Late 19th – early 20th century
Height: 49 cm
Provenance:
Michel de Viloutreys Collection, acquired in situ c. 1925
Passed down through the family
The artistic output of the Kota groups, based in eastern Gabon, is characterised by a body of reliquary figures (mbulu ngulu) intended to watch over the bones of their ancestors. These effigies, combining carved wood with copper or brass plating, reflect a conception of the human figure that is both spiritual and formal, in which abstraction, frontal orientation and the sheen of the surfaces contribute to a powerful, instantly recognisable aesthetic. Far from following a uniform model, this body of work encompasses great regional diversity, with each workshop developing specific artistic solutions in response to concerns that are both ritual and symbolic.
In the nineteenth century, certain sculptors working in the north of the Obamba region, particularly around Otala and Okondja, departed from the established canon to propose a particularly bold reinvention of the human figure. As Cloth has pointed out, their work forms part of a process of successive innovations based on cultural considerations linked to the representation of unique entities (Cloth, ‘New Insights into the Kota’, Tribal Art, 2015, p. 52). This limited body of work is notably documented by Paul Guillaume’s famous Album (c. 1930) as well as by a figure held at the Musée du Quai Branly, collected in Okondja by André Even. Through its scale, the power of its forms and the mastery of its construction, the example presented here stands out as a classic example of this body of work, whose formal boldness has long fascinated avant-garde artists.
For a very similar work, see the Kota Obamba from the André Malraux Collection (Artcurial, 19 June 2019, lot 41).
EXPERT: Pierre MOLLFULLEDA
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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