Gabonese Janiform Osseyba or Reliquary Figure, Based

Two faces, back to back, and no way to get behind it.

This janiform osseyba or reliquary figure is Kota / Mahongwe, from Gabon, Central Africa, 20th century, in copper over carved wood, and it sits on a base. Mahongwe reliquary figures are known for their flat, leaf-like faces, covered in fine metal strips and traditionally linked to the care of ancestral relics. Here hair-thin copper wire runs across a rounded, shield-shaped head. A flat band of linked ovals drops down the middle. Two bulging metal eyes sit low, above a fan of wire. A curved wooden handle anchors it below. Twenty-six and a half inches high.

It has both directions covered.