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Lot 80
Kota-Obamba Reliquary Figure, Gabon
21 November – 5 December 2024, 12:00 PST
Online, Los AngelesUS$25,000 - US$35,000
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Kota-Obamba Reliquary Figure, Gabon
mbulu ngulu
Wood, copper alloy
Height 21 1/2in (54.5cm)
Provenance
Tajan, Paris, 13 March 2002, Lot 122
David Serra, Barcelona
Galleria Dalton-Somaré, Milan
Mark Eglinton Tribal Art, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Literature
David Serra (exhibition catalogue), Imaginaire Tribal, Barcelona, 2017, pp. 36-37
David Serra (exhibition catalogue), BRUNEAF, Brussels, January 2018, p. 19
Composed with an oval concave face subdivided into four quadrants by two brass bands, crescent eyes flank a pyramidal nose and the outer surface embossed with successive bands; bordered on each side with curved lateral extensions, often interpreted as cheeks, and a crescent form extension on the top, often interpreted as the moon, each covered with smooth sheets of brass on the front; a cylindrical neck wrapped in brass sheets and a brass ring. The upper section of the openwork lozenge below, often interpreted as the shoulders, covered at the front with applied brass embossed with an alternating linear design, the lower with shiny, dark brown patina.
Wood, copper alloy
Height 21 1/2in (54.5cm)
Provenance
Tajan, Paris, 13 March 2002, Lot 122
David Serra, Barcelona
Galleria Dalton-Somaré, Milan
Mark Eglinton Tribal Art, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Literature
David Serra (exhibition catalogue), Imaginaire Tribal, Barcelona, 2017, pp. 36-37
David Serra (exhibition catalogue), BRUNEAF, Brussels, January 2018, p. 19
Composed with an oval concave face subdivided into four quadrants by two brass bands, crescent eyes flank a pyramidal nose and the outer surface embossed with successive bands; bordered on each side with curved lateral extensions, often interpreted as cheeks, and a crescent form extension on the top, often interpreted as the moon, each covered with smooth sheets of brass on the front; a cylindrical neck wrapped in brass sheets and a brass ring. The upper section of the openwork lozenge below, often interpreted as the shoulders, covered at the front with applied brass embossed with an alternating linear design, the lower with shiny, dark brown patina.














