1974.Sc.35 Reliquary figure (nbulu ngulu)

Although this figure is highly abstract, it represents an ancestor of the Kota peoples. The Kota believed that the strength and wisdom of their ancestors survived after death, so they preserved their ancestors' skulls and certain bones. This guardian figure, made of wood and covered with precious copper and brass, was thrust into a basket containing these sacred relics. Notice the wide-open eyes in the simplified face, which suggests that the figure is a vigilant guard.

Ancestors were contacted to ensure the well-being of individuals as well as the village, and in times of great distress all reliquaries were brought together to combine the powers of all of the important dead.

Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, Arts of Africa, 2006.

kota: AAT: 300016189

Gabon (nation): TGN: 1000164

wood (plant material): AAT: 300011914

copper (metal): AAT: 300011020

brass (alloy): AAT: 300010946

repoussé: AAT: 300054023

nineteenth century (dates CE): AAT: 300404513

twentieth century (dates CE): AAT: 300404514

afterlife: AAT: 300264304

ancestor veneration: AAT: 300400471

ancestors: AAT: 300255718

apotropaic: DMA

baskets (containers): AAT: 300194498

bone (material): AAT: 300011798

guardian: DMA

human remains: AAT: 300379896

relics: AAT: 300250795

reliquaries (liturgical containers): AAT: 300187549

skull (skeleton component): AAT: 300191856

n.d.: Gustave and Franyo Schindler Collection 

1974: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of the Eugene and Margaret McDermott Foundation in memory of Eugene McDermott [1]

The main source for this provenance is the Object Summary dated May 24, 2006, copy in Dallas Museum of Arts Collections Records object file. Exceptions and supporting documentation are noted. 

[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983. 

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