Tribal Art

Ex-collection of French African art.
African statues of lineage or clan leaders in the tribal art of the Mbede, Mbete, or Ambete.
This version of the reliquary is illustrated by the arrangement and rhythm of its colored planes and by the sober geometry of the facial features. The cult of onkani ancestors, among the Mbete, is surrounded by African figures such as this sculpture whose dorsal cavity conceals baby bird down and fragments of feathers. Matte patina, desiccation cracks, erosions.
The Mbete form a people of Gabon, on the border of Middle Congo, neighboring the Obamba and the Pounou, whose history has been marked by a long-term conflict against the Teke. They do not have a centralized political organization and practice ancestor worship.