African Kota Abstract Reliquary ‘Mbulu’

Gabon,

A classic example of the Obamba or Kota style that blends abstract geometric composition with metallic surfaces intended to protect ancestral relics. These figures served as guardians placed atop baskets containing the bones of ancestors, symbolizing both reverence and spiritual defense through the reflective power of metal coverings.

This sculpture’s formal geometry and planar abstraction define the Kota tradition. It is composed of wood sheathed with copper sheets arranged in geometric motifs, featuring bi-planar facial features, a sickle-shaped coiffure, and a long neck merging into a rhomb (lozenge)-shaped base, which anchored it to the ancestral reliquary. These elements embody the synthesis of symbolic meaning and aesthetic reduction typical of such works, which bridge physical and spiritual realms.

The Kota and Obamba peoples of eastern Gabon maintained ancestral relics in bound bark or basket containers guarded by these iconic figures. The copper and brass surfaces—bright and reflective—were believed to encapsulate spiritual energy (mbulu ngulu) and act as protective forces against malevolent entities. The metallization of wood surfaces was both decorative and metaphysical, making the figure a radiant intermediary between the living and ancestral worlds.

Louis Perrois discussed such works in “Arts du Gabon” (Paris, 1979), particularly focusing on regional variants within the Kota corpus that emphasize planar treatment, coiffure styles, and lozenge-form torsos comparable to this piece. The described example aligns closely with those illustrated by Perrois (fig. 168, p. 173), notable for their balanced asymmetry and anthropomorphic abstraction.

Provenance
This particular sculpture’s documented provenance includes several significant American collectors and galleries:

Private Main Line, Pennsylvania collection

Tambaran Gallery, New York (acquired October 2013)

Julius and Josefa Carlebach, New York (famed mid-20th c. African art dealers)

Barry Kitnick, Los Angeles

Beatrice and Philip Gersh, Beverly Hills (noted philanthropists and African art patrons)

Related Institutional Examples
Similar Kota reliquaries are held in major museums including:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Acc. No. 1978.206.99)

The Cleveland Museum of Art, “Sculptural Element from a Reliquary Ensemble (mbulu ngulu)”

Saint Louis Art Museum, “Reliquary Guardian Figure (mbulu ngulu)”

Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.

This piece typifies the Kota-Obamba masterworks that balance spiritual potency and abstract precision, each an emblem of ancestral continuity within Central African funerary art traditions.