Ambete Reliquary Statue, Gabon, c. 1960

Ambete statues and masks are cubist in structure, with the face often painted white. The statues are provided with a rectangular dorsal cavity or the body itself may be shaped like a reliquary chest. Relics could be placed inside the statue. In this case, the upper part of the statue's body is particularly elongated and the back is hollowed out with a box-like cavity accessible through a small door held in place by a thread. It is thought to have contained the long bones of hunters who had played an important role in tribal life. Height: 46 cm Reproduced: Catalogue “Africa Babel: the Art of a Continent”, p. 60 ctro
 
Exhibitions:
2022-2024 Island of Fuerteventura “Art Africa: Ancestral Light”. Lighthouse of the Entallada. Cabildo of Fuerteventura.
2021-2022 Panama City. Government of Panama. “Art Africa: the spirit of the ancestors”. Ministry of Culture Headquarters. Casco Viejo.
2019-2020 Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Caja Canarias Foundation. “Africa-Babel: the art of a Continent”. Headquarters Plaza Patriotismo.
2013-2015 Museum of Art of Africa and Oceania (Madao). La Granja de San Ildefonso, Segovia.
2005 “Black Africa”, Leather Museum.
2004 “Black Africa”. Caixa Laietana Foundation, Barcelona. Main exhibition hall