“The Ambete live on the frontier with Gabon and the Republic of Congo, and are related to the Kota population. They carved three types of sculpture: heads, busts and full figures with a hollowed back. The latter have short legs, an elongated columnar torso and a flattened face with a triangular chin, an open mouth showing teeth and a triangular nose, all resting under a ridged coiffure. They are thought to have a connection with the ancestor’s cult – they were either used as reliquaries or placed alongside ancestor bones in a basket.
Heads and busts were probably positioned on poles and placed in front of the chief’s house. They may have had an apotropaic or emblematic purpose.”
Source:
Baquart, Jean-Baptiste. The Tribal Arts of Africa. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc. 1998. Print.
Art from this Tribe
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Ambete Reliquary Style Decorative Statue 27″ – DRC – African Art
$140.00$70.00View More -
Decorative Ambete Style Statue 27.5″ – DRC – African Art
$180.00$90.00View More -
Ambete Statue with Hollowed-Out Back 34″ – DRC – African Art
$270.00$135.00View More -
Ambete Reliquary with Hollowed-Out Back 19″ – DRC – African Art
$195.00$97.50View More