H x W x D: 56.8 x 32 x 6.5 cm (22 3/8 x 12 5/8 x 2 9/16 in.)
Type:
Figure
Geography:
Gabon
Date:
Early 20th century
Label Text:
The Kota peoples in Gabon 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, were kept in woven baskets with powerful substances. 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 burned or buried. In the early 20th century, European artists, most notably Picasso, were influenced by the formal stylistic qualities of the Kota figures. This particular figure was once owned by the English artist Jacob Epstein.
Description:
Stylized wood figure with brass and copper sheeting open lozenge body, oval head, semicircular top and curved panels with pendants on sides of face. Metal is smooth sheets on side panels and top, and face has a smooth cross and quadrants with lines.
Provenance:
Jacob Epstein, London, 1930-1961
Samuel Rubin, New York, -- to 1978
Exhibition History:
Africa Gallery, Dayton Art Institute, January 18, 2003-January 20, 2006
Celebration: A World of Art and Ritual, Renwick Gallery, Washington D.C., March 17, 1982-July 10, 1983
Life...Afterlife: African Funerary Sculpture, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 1981-March 1, 1982
Published References:
Bassani, Ezio and Malcolm D. McLeod. 1989. Jacob Epstein, Collector. Milan: Associazione Poro, p. 113, no. 273.
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