Vintage Mbete Statue

A vintage Mbete Statue from the Kota Peoples of Gabon. They were tribes of secret societies quite large and powerful. The Mbete do not have any centralized political organization; they practice ancestor worship.

They are thought to have a connection with the ancestor’s cult and they were either used as reliquaries or placed alongside ancestor bones in a basket. The busts, figures, statues and masks of the Mbete are cubist in structure, the stepped hair-dress having clearly-marked gradations, and the face frequently being painted white.

Circa 1980s.

Measurements:

• Height: 19.5"
• Width: 5.5"
  
• Depth: 6"