On view
Bwiti (reliquary figure),
late 19th–20th century
More Context
This Hongwe reliquary guardian figure is an example of one of the most stylized forms of African sculpture. The combination of an abstract, leaf-shaped face with recognizable eyes and nose above a minimalist base results in an arresting work of art. The foliate face has a slightly concave plane, below which the base extends in the shape of a lozenge. Lashed to an opening in the base would have been a bundle or basket of relics, consisting of the skulls of deceased family members and other sacred materials. The guardian figure protected the relics from malevolent forces and trespassing individuals. A copper wire wrapped around the face and a hammered copper strip extending down the forehead enhanced the guardian’s power, as the shiny metal could reflect and deflect unwelcome viewers. In times of community crisis, families would bring their reliquaries together, combining the reliquaries’ individual powers to entreat the ancestors for aid and protection.
Information
late 19th–20th century
Africa, Gabon
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"Acquisitions 1972", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 32, no. 1 (1973): p. 20-30.
, p. 21; p. 22 (illus.) - Allen Rosenbaum and Francis F. Jones, Selections from The Art Museum, Princeton University, (Princeton, NJ: The Art Museum, Princeton University, 1986), p. 279
- "Selected checklist of objects in the collection of African art," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 58, no. 1/2 (1999): p. 77–83., p. 79
- Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), p. 335 (illus.)
- Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collections (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Art Museum, 2013), p. 387
