Reliquary: Standing Male Figure. Culture: Kota peoples, Mbete group. Dimensions: H. 32.5 in. (82.6 cm). Date: 19th century.Mbete sculptors developed a figurative reliquary form that fully integrated ancestral sacra within the sculpture. In this tradition, a hollowed columnar torso served as an internal receptacle. That core is framed by the gesture of minimally defined arms held to either side and supported below by knees bent above broad muscular calves. The tensed posture of the figures suggests their role as active guardian to the reliquary's contents. Access to the contents was afforded through a dorsal aperture.This intensely concentrated figure evokes an active sentinel. The suggestion of arrested movement derives from the slight torsion of the torso and lower body. There is also a slight asymmetry to the placement of the hands on either side of the stomach. The thighs narrow to a point at the bent knees which are supported by powerful muscular calves. Seen frontally, the trunk