KOTA RELIQUARY GABON carved wood and hammered... Lot 14

KOTA RELIQUARY GABON carved wood and hammered copper, of classic abstract form, crescent coiffure leading to bi-planal features and diamond shaped handle, sand polished, mounted on a bespoke wooden stand (42.5cm tall) Provenance: Private collection, France Private collection, United Kingdom Note: The making of figures to honour ancestors and allow continued communication with them was once widespread. The Kota peoples of modern Gabon and Republic of Congo produced particularly elaborate reliquaries which reduced the human form to a distinctive flattened shape. Their use of wood and hammered metal is completely unique among African sculptural forms. The key characteristic of these icons is the oversized head composed of radically simplified features. No two were the same however, the Kota artists worked within some basic rules based on tradition but enjoyed significant freedom to adapt their creation. The figure was accentuated with strips of copper & brass, this use of metal not only heightened associations of wealth and prosperity, but its shiny surface was also considered to scare off malevolent spirits. It was around the end of the 19th century when the first Kota reliquaries began arriving in Europe. They became amongst the first sub-Saharan artworks to be displayed in the west, quickly becoming highly sought after by collectors. The avant-garde artists living in Paris in the early 20th century were particularly fascinated by the radical abstraction of the human form that the reliquaries embodied. Picasso & Giacometti both owned one, with the former’s Nude with Raised Arms being directly influenced by his example.