Figure

With its columnar torso and crested hairstyle, this figure is related stylistically to a rare group of reliquary figures also made by Ambete artists. The diamond-like pose of this and other Ambete figures’ arms may have inspired neighboring Kota artists to create similarly abstracted arms for their reliquary figures, such as the example at left. However, there are no indications that this figure was used in a reliquary capacity. A 19th-century label fixed to the figure’s back identifies it as “Ngoa” and claims the figure served as a diviner’s implement for determining the causes of sexual difficulties. Such an interpretation is certainly suggested by the figure’s pronounced genitalia, surrounded by a series of pegs, which may have once supported a skirt or wrapper.