A very beautiful and ancient mbumba bwiti reliquary guardian figure with her ochre-colored charge carrying her mirror, a twenty-five franc coin, and hairs from the tail of an atherure (porcupine family). In addition to its beautiful and ancient polychromy, it wears the traditional feminine hairstyle of plaited braids in Kodia spirals, reminiscent of the spiral shell of the snail, which constitutes an allegory of the Kongo migratory origin. The mbumba figures, guardians of reliquaries and objects of intercession with the ancestors, are always feminine. On the subject of the Kodia hairstyle, see : Lumbu, un art sacré, Éd. Gourcuff-Gradenigo and Galerie Bernard Dulon, 2016, p. 79. Lumbu, Gabon Wood, pigments, glass, resin, piece, hair of Athérure, and other elements constituting the load, visible wear and crack of age, very beautiful and old patina of use. H. Height : 46 cm Provenance : Jacques Viault Collection.