작품 상세

A ritual object consisting of a circular woven basket from which emerges a Tsogho reliquary figure, adorned with a complex array of symbolic and ceremonial elements, including a sheep horn, a feather, and a gastropod shell, all linked by necklaces of glass beads that visually and ritually articulate the whole. This type of reliquary basket and bundle, intended to hold the bones of ancestors, was widespread in Gabon among various peoples—Fang, Kota, Mitsogho, and Massango—and was known as Bumba or Mbumb(a) among the Tsogho. The sculptures associated with these reliquaries acted as mediators between the world of the living and the dead, watching over descendants and participating in crucial clan ceremonies, held exclusively in the presence of initiates, during which the reliquaries were displayed and ritually activated. From the French collection of the painter Amadeo Plaza Garcés, this piece is made of basketry, metal, glass beads, sheep horn, and shell, and constitutes a significant testament to the ancestral cults of the Chaillu Massif and Ngounié Province, where these objects played a central role in the spiritual and political life of the communities. Lot in international warehouse (within the EU). Intra-EU shipment: no import duties apply within the EU. An export permit from the country of origin may be required.