FIG. 21 (above): Detail of a group of reliquary busts and heads. Lumbu, Gabon. Private collections, France. Photo © Hughes Dubois. 121 provides something of a link to an entirely different kind of Lumbu artistic production—reliquaries. Reliquaries The corpus of Lumbu statuary includes a large number of reliquaries, mostly busts and heads atop a long shaft with a charge with a mirror at the extremity. The sculpted portion is an idealized portrait of a young girl, colored white, red, and blue. These colors have evident assigned meanings. White, obtained from kaolin, is associated with the spirit Bunzi and is symbolic of peace; red, obtained from tukula, represents fi re, blood, and fl esh; and blue, obtained from Guimet laundry bluing, suggests water, the abode of the spirits. The oldest known Lumbu reliquary, which is exhibited at the Musée du Quai Branly, wears the traditional coiffure with two large tresses often seen in archival photos (fi g. 18). The two small charges under the arms suggest a Kongo infl uence.22 French collector Hubert Goldet once owned a complete reliquary of the cylindrical bust type, notable for having retained its original basket made of bark and bamboo strips, and its white, red, and blue polychrome shaped eyes, a thick-lipped mouth, and an unscarifi ed chest. Its genitals are covered by a mubati and its massive legs are reminiscent of those of the small Lumbu amulets with rounded feet to be discussed below. Standing Figures In addition to the sculptures discussed above, another type is a female fi gure that is rendered standing with her hands on her hips. According to Robert Farris Thompson, this pose symbolizes the duty to act on behalf of society and to become aggressive if necessary in order to fi nd solutions.21 This type of fi gure, adorned with bracelets and fi rmly planted on its legs, is found throughout the Mayombe area. A beautiful example is shown here in fi gure 17. The head, its face whitened with kaolin, bears an elegant coiffure in the shape of a rounded and striated visor, the body is covered with red between the thigh and the pointed breasts, and lozenge-shaped scarifi cations are arrayed across the torso. By virtue of the fact that it is polychrome, in contrast to the natural wood color and shiny patinas observed on other pieces in the corpus discussed above, this fi gure Lumbu Statuary
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