Period: Circa mid-19th century
Materials: Wood, copper, brass and iron
Dimensions: 32 cm
Provenance
Henri Kamer (1937–1992), New York
Guy Piazzini, Paris
Daniel Hourdé, Paris, 1992
John Dintenfass Collection, New York, 1998
Dalton Somaré, Milan
Anna Demina Collection, Helsinki
Publications
Bruneaf XXII, catalogue, Brussels, 2012, pp. 44–45
Hearts and Diamonds. Art of Gabon from the Anna Demina Collection, P. Mollfulleda, Gruppo Editoriale, Milan, 2021, pp. 66-69, p. 102
Origins: a vision on African Art, Anna Demina & Leinuo Zhang Collection, Dalton Somaré, Milan, 2019, pp. 30-33
Exhibitions
Parcours des Mondes, Paris, 2013
CULTURES, Brussels, 2018
AMART, Milan, 2018
Kota guardian figures and the discovery of Kota art
The first Kota Guardian Figures reached Europe following Savorgnan de Brazza’s expedition along the Ivindo River in 1887. These works immediately attracted the attention of artists and collectors, who were struck by their dynamism, expressive force and abstract, two-dimensional forms.
Artists such as André Derain, Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Fernand Léger and Constantin Brancusi, together with the European avant-gardes of the early 20th century, recognized in these sculptures an extraordinary expressive synthesis, a rigorous architectural balance and an essential quality free from superfluous decoration.
The discovery of Kota Art played an important role in transforming the European gaze on non-Western artistic forms and contributed to the birth of modern aesthetic sensibility. The rarity and formal value of these sculptures quickly placed them at the highest level of international collecting. Still today, Kota guardian figures are frequently exhibited alongside masterpieces by some of the most important artists of the 20th century.
From a morphological point of view, Kota Guardian Figures are characterized by a face surmounted by a crescent-shaped coiffure, supported by a long, thin neck that accentuates their monumentality and could also function as a handle.
Below the neck, the figure develops into a lozenge-shaped form representing an extreme schematization of the human body. On the back of the sculpture a lozenge element frequently appears, the meaning of which remains enigmatic today.
The cult of Kota guardian figures, active until the end of the 19th century, underwent rapid decline and progressive transformation at the beginning of the 20th century. This change was largely due to the influence of Christian missionaries, which led to the complete abandonment of traditional funerary practices. This cultural crisis made guardian figures marketable and accessible, whereas until then they had been considered sacred and inalienable. Previously, these sculptures had formed a fundamental element of clan identity and cohesion, guaranteeing continuity and perpetuation.
Kota reliquary figures from Gabon periodically received offerings and tributes during ceremonies performed before hunting expeditions, harvest festivals or any important undertaking requiring the wisdom and immortal strength of the venerated ancestors.
Their ritual importance also emerges from the careful choice of materials used in their creation. The figures were made from a wooden core covered with thin sheets of precious metal. The use of brass or copper had strong symbolic value, since these metals were particularly precious among the peoples of Gabon. Extremely rare in the region, they were obtained through costly trade exchanges with Portuguese merchants.
