Figure de reliquaire, Kota Obamba, Gabon

Merton Simpson (1928-2013), New York
Sotheby's, New York, 15 novembre 1985, n° 102
Collection Viviane Jutheau, Comtesse de Witt, acquis lors de cette vente

Sur le piétement, n° "5525" inscrit à l'encre blanche

Very good condition overall. Wear consistent with age and use within the culture. The lower part is very well preserved as are the copper and brass plates, as visible in the catalogue illustration. The reverse of the figure shows brown patina while the base of the figure shows a beautiful deep brown patina with abrasions in places. Handwritten inventory number in white to the edge proper left side of the base, 5525.
"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 effigie mbulu ngulu illustre, par la personnalité de sa facture, le talent de certains artistes à transcender les canons stylistiques définis par chaque peuple de la mosaïque des « Kota ». Le visage en très haut-relief, de volume convexe-concave et aux yeux signifiés par de larges cupules, relève des variantes des Kota du sud et notamment des Kota Obamba et Ndasa. Son expressivité est accentuée par l'étroitesse de la face et la force des lignes contenant chaque volume. Dans la prégnance de l'image ancestrale, cette figure de reliquaire s'apparente, au sein des Kota méridionaux, au corpus attribué par Louis Perrois au « Maître de la Sébé » (in de Grunne, Mains de maîtres, 2001, p. 141-159). 

Provenant selon toute vraisemblance de la même région - vallée de la Sébé, à l’est du Gabon, sur la rive droite de l’Ogooué - la force singulière de son interprétation rappelle que « malgré les contraintes du style, les sculpteurs ont su souvent conférer à leurs œuvres une ‘personnalité’ que les villageois du Gabon oriental appréciaient en connaisseur. Chaque effigie rituelle, façonnée selon des formes mémorisées à partir de visions d’initiés, est un portrait impossible, fruit d’un imaginaire collectif particulièrement riche et ambivalent, fait de craintes des défunts mais aussi d’espoir de leur aide, ces œuvres sont des ‘images’ de rêve destinées plus aux esprits qu’aux yeux » (Perrois, idem, p. 151). 

Kota Obamba figure, Gabon

This mbulu ngulu effigy is a testament to the talent which certain artists possessed for transforming the stylistic canons established by the "Kota" mosaic. The face - in very high relief, with convex-concave volumes and the eyes represented as broad cupules - is related to the southern Kota variants, specifically the Kota Obamba and Ndasa. Its expressiveness is accentuated by the slenderness of the figure and the power of the outlines that contain each volume. The offered reliquary figure is related, within the southern Kota style, to the corpus which Louis Perrois has attributed to the 'Master of the Sebe" (in de Grunne, Mains de maîtres, 2001, p. 141-159). 

In all likelihood the offered figure is from the same region - the Sebé Valley in eastern Gabon, on the right bank of the Ogooué - the singular aesthetic impact of this figure reminds us that "despite the constraints of style, sculptors were often able to give their works a 'personality' that the villagers of eastern Gabon appreciated as connoisseurs. Each ritual effigy, crafted according to forms memorised from initiates' visions, is an impossible portrait, the fruit of an extremely rich and ambivalent common seam of imagination, based both on the fear of the deceased and the hope for their aid; these works are 'images' of dreams meant more for minds than eyes." (Perrois, ibid, p. 151).