Tribal Art

Galoa Reliquary (N° 22528)

This sculpted bust, altered by time and insects, adopts a face with the features of the judicial mask of Okukwé society, worn on the occasion of funerals, the birth of twins, or other major events.
Glossy patina, cracks and losses.
The Galoa (or Galwa), a Pounou subgroup, live downstream from Lambarene on the Ogooué River, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. They are called "people of the lake". They also produced masks called Okouyi, Okukwé, used by initiatory societies to reveal witchcraft and their authors through divination. Several neighboring ethnic groups, including the Adouma and the Kota, use flat areas of contrasting colors in Gabon, including kaolin supposed to have apotropaic properties. The groups of Gabon practice the worship of the bwiti, worship of the ancestors, and their relics are surmounted by a sculpture acting as a watchman. "The soul of Africa" ​​S. Diakonoff; "Black African Tribal Art" ed. Assouline.