FIGURE DE RELIQUAIRE, KOTA SANGU, GABON |

Figure de reliquaire, Kota Sangu, Gabon

Collection Paul Tishman (1900-1996), New-York, avant 1968
Collection Armand Arman (1928-2005), Paris / New York
Collection Bernard Fraissine, Rodez
Collection privée, France

Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Sculpture of Black Africa : The Paul Tishman Collection, 16 octobre 1968 - 5 janvier 1969

Sieber et Rubin, Sculpture of Black Africa, The Paul Tishman Collection, 1968, p. 102, n° 108

Very good condition overall. As visible in the catalogue illustration both eyes are missing and the base is eroded but this wear is consistent with age and use within the culture. The metallic part is extremely well preserved. Fine dark brown patina on the wooden part.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Cette figure de reliquaire mbumba-bwete relève d’un des styles les plus rares et les plus fascinants de l’aire Kota. En 1887, dans la revue Le Tour du monde, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza publiait, sous le titre d'« Invocation aux esprits », une gravure où figurent trois effigies comparables délicatement décorées de plaquettes et de lamelles de cuivre – dont vraisemblablement celle offerte en 1897 par Charles Roche au musée d’ethnographie du Trocadéro (musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, inv. n° 71.1897.39.1). Selon Louis Perrois (Kota, 2012, p. 70-72), cette « variante remarquable des figures ancestrales de la région de la boucle de l’Ogooué […] provient de la région occidentale de l'aire culturelle Kota [...] occupée alors par des peuples ‘Kota’ aussi divers que les Duma, les Sangu, les Wanzi, les Shaké, les Kota-Kota puis les Ndumu ». Cette variante demeure, depuis la publication de Brazza et le don de Charles Roche, l'une des expressions les plus rares du style dit "Kota". Evocation symbolique de l’ancêtre notable bwete, cette figure illustre le talent remarquable des sculpteurs Sangu qui ont su puiser tant dans les canons traditionnels que dans leur imaginaire pour créer ces œuvres saisissantes. Le corps se résume aux épaules losangiques prolongées par un long cou sur lequel est juchée la tête miniature, résumée jusqu’à l’épure. Très expressif malgré son caractère minimaliste, le visage se construit autour d’une longue plaque de cuivre figurant le nez, encadrée d’une vis signifiant la bouche et de deux petits clous qui devaient autrefois fixer des yeux faits de rondelles d’os ou de coquillage. Le front arrondi se déploie sur le haut de la tête pour constituer une natte en catogan retombant sur la nuque - coiffure que l'on retrouve sur l’exemplaire autrefois dans la collection du Docteur Stephen Chauvet, conservé à l’Art Gallery of Ontario (inv. n° 99/460). Encadrant ce visage aux traits serrés, les oreilles géométrisées à l’extrême renforcent cette puissance visuelle qui confère à la figure une présence singulière. Témoignant d’un art Kota à l’apogée de l’abstraction, cette figure de reliquaire ayant appartenu à l’artiste Arman s’apparente étroitement, par ses caractéristiques formelles, à celle publiée par Alain et Françoise Chaffin en 1981 (L’art Kota. Les figures de reliquaire, p. 286, n° 170).

This mbumba-bwete reliquary figure is associated with one of the rarest and most fascinating styles of the Kota area. In 1887, in Le Tour du monde, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza published, under the title "invocation aux esprits", an engraving figuring three comparable effigies, finely decorated with copper plates and strips -  probably including that offered in 1897 by Charles Roche to the Ethnographic Museum of the Trocadero (musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, inv. No. 71.1897.39.1).  According to Louis Perrois (Kota, 2012, p. 70-72), this "remarkable version of an ancestor figure from the region at the bend of the Ogowe River [...] comes from the western part of the cultural Kota area​ [...] then inhabited by 'Kota' peoples as diverse as the Duma, the Sangu, the Wanzi, the Shake, and the Kota-Kota followed by the Ndumu." Since the publication by Brazza and the donation by Charles Roche, this type of reliquary remains one of the rarest expressions of the "Kota" style.

A symbolic evocation of the prominent bwete ancestor, this figure magnificently illustrates the remarkable talent of Sangu sculptors, who drew from both traditional canons and their own imagination to create these striking figures. The body is figured only as diamond shaped shoulders surmounted by a long neck, which in turn holds up the miniature head pared down to its most elemental outlines. With a great force of expression despite its minimalist character, the face is built around a long copper plate affixed on the nose, framed by a screw depicting the mouth and two small nails that were once used to fix eyes made of slices of bone or shell, illuminating the face. The rounded forehead extends over the top of the head tapering down to a braided plait on the nape of the neck - a hairstyle found on the piece formerly in the collection of Dr. Stephen Chauvet, held at the Art Gallery of Ontario (inv. n° 99/460). Framing this face with its tight features, the two ears in an extremely geometrical depiction, reinforce the visual force that gives the figure its singular presence. A testament to Kota art at the height of its abstraction, this Kota Sangu reliquary figure, having belonged to the artist Arman, in its formal characteristics closely resembles the one published by Alain and Françoise Chaffin in 1981 (L’art Kota. Les figures de reliquaire, p. 286, No. 170).