Fetish Teke With Its Box Congo

Very rare reliquary box of the Téké ethnic group of CONGO with its fetish as a lid. The Téké are a Bantu people located in the Congo and a little bit in Gabon According to the founding myths, they would descend from Nguunu, ancestor of most of the populations of southern Congo. Successors of the pygmies in the occupation of Congo-Brazzaville, they are founders of the great Téké kingdom, rival of the Kongo kingdom. This type of box is more often encountered among their Fang neighbors. Our box is made of bark enclosed by ropes, lianas in which wooden nails have been inserted The reliquary surmounting the lid and made of semi-hard wood Its scarified face surmounted by a hat, typical of the Téké Ropes hold pieces of wood encircling its belly or is carved a reliquary cavity Remains of feathers of birds are stuck there as well as on the hat attesting to the sacred offerings which has received a shiny patina in places of this set also attests to the repeated manipulation that this sculpture has undergone Beautiful collector's item Provenance; Private collection from the South of France