A 19TH CENTURY NGATA ANTHROPOMORPHIC POLYCHROME EFOMBA RELIQUARY FIGURE, the male figure with painted carved and studded decoration, the head with a studded strip to its forehead and a rope running through its lower jaw, the back revealing a rectangular alcove with a skeletal figure carved in relief to its interior

Efomba or Bonganga figures were specially commissioned by high ranking members of the Ngata people of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Commissioned during the individuals lifetime, they would be placed above their grave or in the home as a memento mori, with the rear alcove containing an effigy of the deceased individual.

190cm tall

Provenance: Sold by the Toguna Gallery now of Loze, France in 2015 who verified it as having an approximate age of 126 years. A copy of the certificate of authenticity is available to view.