A superb and ancient guardian figure of a mbumba bwiti reliquary with an imposing presence, wearing a hairstyle of large braided plaits called mitooki and tinted with the blue so characteristic of this corpus of mbumba sculptures, obtained with the Guimet washing blue imported in the 19th century, named after its inventor in 1828 Jean-Baptiste Guimet. This ancient mbumba bwiti reliquary keeper, who has lost his office here, was planted in a basket of basketry where one or more skulls were placed, embodying the genius of the founding ancestor of the lineage. During bwiti ceremonies, the initiate, diviner or sorcerer, might take the mbumba out of its bone basket and hold, wave or question it, using it as a ceremonial scepter and an object of intercession with the world of the ancestors. Its owner was usually buried after his death with his mbumba. For other comparable mbumba bwiti reliquary figures, see: Lumbu, a Sacred Art, Gourcuff-Gradenigo ed. and Bernard Dulon Gallery, 2016, pp. 130-161. Lumbu, Gabon Wood, glass, pigments, resin remnant, very nice patina of use. H. 57,5 cm Provenance : Jacques Viault Collection.