Reliquary Figure
20th century
Object PlaceGabon
Medium/Techniquewood and metal
DimensionsOverall: 66 x 35 x 8 cm (26 x 13 3/4 x 3 1/8 in.)
Credit LineGift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession number2009.2593
On View
Not on viewClassificationsReligious and cult objects
Collections
Kota reliquary figures were among the first African works to gain admiration in the West. Their anthropomorphic shape, with oversized head and lozenge-shaped upper torso, especially appealed to artists at the beginning of the twentieth century. This work was Mrs. McMillan's first acquisition.In their original settings, these figures guarded the bones and other relics of important ancestors, which family groups placed in baskets or wrapped in bundles and kept in small shelters. These potent reliquaries protected the living.
Provenance1970, sold by the Galerie Burgui, Paris, to Geneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)
20th century
19th century
mid-20th century
20th century
