Mbulu Ngulu (Reliquary Guardian Figure)

Public Domain

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Images(3)

Artist Unknown African

CultureKota (Bakota, Kuta) peoples

Titles

Mbulu Ngulu (Reliquary Guardian Figure)

DateLate 19th–early 20th century

PlaceGabon, Africa

PlaceCongo, Africa

MediumWood, brass, and copper

DimensionsOverall: 24 × 10 1/8 × 2 1/2 in. (61 × 25.8 × 6.4 cm)

Credit LineGift of Frank Carroll in memory of Frank and Eleanor Carroll

Object number2020.495

Not on view

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Department

African Art

Object Type

SCULPTURE

ProvenancePossibly [John J. Klejman (1906–1995), New York, 1960s]; purchased by Stuart Hollander (1929–2013), St. Louis, by at least 1989–1993; purchased by [Alexander Gallery, St. Louis, 1993]; purchased by George Feher, New York, 1993–1995; purchased by [Alexander Gallery, St. Louis, 1995–1996]; purchased by [Davis Gallery, New Orleans, 1996]; purchased by Frank Carroll, Houston, September 1996; given to MFAH, 2020.
Exhibition History“Living with the Gods: Art, Beliefs, and Peoples,” October 27, 2024–January 20, 2025, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Exhibited as loan, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2004–2020, when accessioned as gift.

Published References Warran M. Robbins and Nancy Nooter, "African Art in American Collections" (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989), 341. Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

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Catalogue raisonnéN/A

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