id:			163793
accession number:	2005.2
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2005.2
updated:		2023-04-23 11:16:03.197000

Sculptural Element from a Reliquary Ensemble (mbulu ngulu), probably 1800s. Africa, Central Africa, Gabon, Kota-style maker. Wood, copper alloy, and iron; overall: 61 x 27.5 x 3 cm (24 x 10 13/16 x 1 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2005.2

title:				Sculptural Element from a Reliquary Ensemble (mbulu ngulu)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			probably 1800s
creation date earliest:		1800
creation date latest:		1899
current location:		108A Sub-Saharan
creditline:			Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Africa, Central Africa, Gabon, Kota-style maker
technique:	Wood, copper alloy, and iron
department:	African Art
collection:	African Art
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 61 x 27.5 x 3 cm (24 x 10 13/16 x 1 3/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art
	opening date:   2006-06-09T00:00:00
	<i>The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art</i>. Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA), Cleveland, OH (June 9-August 20, 2006).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* MOCA Cleveland (6/9/2006 - 8/20/2006):  "The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art", no. 34, p. 117, color repr. p. 11.

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PROVENANCE

	Mr. and Mrs. Willem Vranken-Hoet, Brussels, Belgium, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?–2005
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Purchased by the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: 2005–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
The diamond-shaped "body" of this sculpture was originally pushed into a container of ancestral relics (bones) up to its "shoulders." Metal covers only areas of the wood that were left visible.

digital description:


wall description:
The ethnic map of eastern Gabon is extremely complicated as a result of continuous migratory movements since the 17th century. Kota is the name of one of three culturally closely related people. All share the tradition of commemorating and honoring ancestors through the preservation and worship of sacred ancestral relics within cylindrical bark containers or bound in fiber packets. Covered with sheets of copper and brass, this abstract wooden human-shaped figure—distilled to a planar surface—served as a guardian set atop a basket container holding the skull, certain bones, and other relics of a deceased man. It belonged to a religious institution that honored the memory of individuals who made major contributions during their lifetime. The luminosity of the copper and brass covering was considered intimidating and spiritually empowered to deflect harm and thus protect the owner and his family.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Sims, Lowery Stokes. <em>The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content, and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2006.
	page number: 	Reproduced: P. 11, no. 34
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2005.2/2005.2_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2005.2/2005.2_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2005.2/2005.2_full.tif