Ntomba-Ngata reliquary sculpture, Dominican Republic of the

All sculptures made by the Ngata are linked to funerary rituals. The best known are the large and rare anthropomorphic figures in polychrome wood, also called "coffins". There are many versions about their use, what we know is that they are sculpted in secret in a sacred space called Efomba by a specialized sculptor called Bobongo. The finished "coffin" is called Bonganga-nganga. The large ones are made for high chiefs, while the small ones are made for people of lower rank. The remains of the deceased are exhumed and placed in the statue, which is kept and guarded in a hut. Height: 133 cm Reproduced: Catalogue “Africa Babel: the Art of a Continent”, p.- 114
 
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