IDNO

T.169938.GIJ

Description

Documentary photograph of a Bakota reliquary guardian figure, a carved wooden mask with a stylised face. The face has ichi scarification marks radiating from its nose and eyes. The eyes are semicircular with straight line base. The nose is a narrow vertical ridge. There are three triangular shapes marking the edge of the chin. There are wing-shaped flanges on each side of the face, with a semicircular helmet and a diamond-shaped handle.

The figure is now in the care of MAA, reference Z 26931, and described as: "Mbulu ngulu. Reliquary guardian figure of wood, plated with hammered copper and brass. In the centre is a concave human face with crescent eyes and a pointed triangular nose; the face is decorated with a plain cross, the arms spanning the length and width of the face, and panels of incised diagonal lines. There is an abstract head ornament, with a rectangular panel with rounded upper corners behind the head, and a semicircular panel above the head, decorated with stamped dots around the edges and crosshatched triangles along the bottom. There are two conical protrusions along the bottom of the head ornament, one on each side. The figure has a ribbed cylindrical neck and a open lozenge-shaped piece that indicates the body." [Description from object record Z 26931, PB 07/09/2023]

Place

C Africa; Gabon

Cultural Affliation

Kota [Bakota]

Named Person

Photographer

Jones, Gwilliam Iwan (known as G.I.)

Collector / Expedition

Date

circa 1980 to 1989

Collection Name

Jones Collection

Source

Format

Colour Transparency

Primary Documentation

Other Information

T.169937.GIJ - T.170148.GIJ were located together in a Agfa transparency box, now numbered C756/.