For the Kota people, this potent and forbidding figure embodied the sanctity of the ancestors, whose spirits protect the living. When it was attached to the top of a basket filled with the bones of deceased family members, the resulting assemblage was known as mbulu ngulu, or “image of the spirit of the dead.” Sculptures such as this one functioned as vehicles for appealing to the ancestors for aid and for protection against evil forces.
Kota carvings represent an especially sophisticated tradition of metal appliqué in African art. These abstracted figures are worked from a single piece of wood, which is then covered with shining sheets and strips of brass and copper that endow them with an intimidating presence. The oval face is edged with projecting elements that probably depict an elaborate hairstyle. The lower body takes the form of a diamond-shaped support; the erosion at the bottom very likely resulted from its being repeatedly placed in a bark or basketry container of ancestor bones—testimony to its usage in Kota life.
Preparatory sketches for Pablo Picasso’s breakthrough 1907 Cubist painting, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, reveal the direct influence of Kota sculpture.
