AFRICAN OSSEYBA OR RELIQUARY FIGURE BRASS KOTA / MAHONGWE GABON CENTRAL AFRICA
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:65510 | Color: Gold |
| Material: Brass / Copper / Wood | Maker: KOTA / MAHONGWE |
| Original/Reproduction: Original |
GJPaw Auctionsis pleased to offer a stunning Osseyba or Reliquary figure, from the Kota / Mahongwe People, Gabon, Central Africa. The Bakota (or Kota) area Bantu ethnic group, comprising numerous sub-groups, including the Mahongwe from the northeastern region of Gabon. Ancestor worship forms the core of religious and social life throughoutmuch of eastern Gabon, and most of the art forms are connected to theveneration and storage of ancestral ...remains.The Mahongwe showed particular devotion to the relics of important ancestors, and practiced an ancestor cult known as bwiti or bwete, which was centered around ancestors who are believed to wield power in theafterlife as they had as living leaders of the community. Wooden sculpturescovered with sheets of copper and brass, known as reliquary or guardianfigures, were surmounted to baskets made of tree bark or fiber containing theremains ancestors.Thesehighly distinctive narrow metal strip-covered wooden sculptures were known tothe Mahongwe as 'osseyba', and the Europeans called them "naja" becausethey resembled the head of an erect cobra. The baskets were placed in villagetemples and generally consisted of two figures, one larger than the other. Thelarger represented the founder of the lineage and the smaller a descendant. This unusual "descendant" example has a carved-woodunder-structure, with brass sheets worked in a repousse technique (sheetmetal worked by pressure from the rear to form a design.) It measures 5 inches in width by 3 inch in depth by 14.25 inches in height (12.7 cm by 7.62 cm by 36.1 cm), including the specially designed, hand-made, iron museum display stand. It is in very good condition, includingrubbing and minor scratches. It dates probably to the mid-20th century. Asuperb example of a very distinctive style of African sculptural art, it wouldmake a fine collector’s piece and is guaranteed authentic.GJPaw Auctions has been in the Art business for over 25 yearsand is now expanding its operation to eBay. Our goal is to bring the sameexperience and excitement of collecting that we have been delivering in-personto collectors across the globe at Primitive in Chicago. Everyobject we sell online has been carefully hand-selected with special attentionto detail, quality, and significance. We ship worldwide. Add GJPaw toSellers you Follow and please take a moment to look at our other auctionitems. A1500-338
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