Gabonese Osseyba or Reliquary Figure

Brass crescents above, copper bands around the face, and a stare set deep.

Reliquary figures of the Kota peoples are among the most recognizable sculptures of Central Africa, traditionally set above containers holding the relics of ancestors. This osseyba or reliquary figure is Kota / Mahongwe, from Gabon, Central Africa, 20th century, in brass and copper over carved wood. A domed brass forehead is split by a copper stripe. Ribbed metal covers the lower face, with two round eyes recessed beneath it. Crescents with stamped edges rise behind the head. The bare wooden base shapes an open diamond below a ringed neck. Twenty-five and a half inches high.

Its gaze does not wander.