H x W x D: 28.6 x 13 x 7.3 cm (11 1/4 x 5 1/8 x 2 7/8 in.)
Type:
Figure
Geography:
Ogowe-Ngunie River region, Gabon
Date:
Late 19th-early 20th century
Label Text:
Several Bantu-speaking peoples, including the Hongwe and Kota peoples in Gabon and the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville), preserved and revered the relics of important ancestral leaders in the belief that their extraordinary powers survived mortal death. The relics, customarily the skull and certain other bones, and powerful substances were kept in bark boxes or woven baskets. Sculpted wood figures overlaid with metal were positioned on or tied to the reliquary to serve as its guardian. The creation of reliquary guardian figures ceased around 1930 as a result of aggressive proselytizing by Christian missionaries, the imposition of a new social organization centered on the Western-style nuclear family and indigenous movements aimed at destroying certain local religious practices. Consequently, many of these sculptures were destroyed by burning or concealed by burial, which may explain the degradation of the wood.
Because of its small head, this fragmentary figure may have come from the northern Kota. The metal, applied lavishly to the front in parallel bands, serves as both an offering of wealth and a tangible metaphor for diverting harm.
Description:
Fragment of a wood reliquary guardian figure composed of small, abstract face with bands of metal overlay and protruding, circular eyes. The wood has decomposed considerably.
Provenance:
Eliot Elisofon, New York, -- to 1973
Exhibition History:
Three Collections, An Exhibition, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, June 1-17, 1955
Tribute to Africa: The Photography and the Collection of Eliot Elisofon, Museum of African Art, Frederick Douglass House, Washington, D.C., June-December 1974
Published References:
Elisofon, Eliot. 1958. The Sculpture of Africa. New York: Praeger, p. 185, no. 231.
Museum for African Art. 1974. Tribute to Africa: The Photography and the Collection of Eliot Elisofon. Washington D.C.: Museum of African Art, p. 33.
Content Statement:
As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
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High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
