They are rare if not exceptional, very representative of a region and a people. These figures that can be found across the Liboumba valley and up to K ll in the Congo, are very representative of extreme artistic expression of African art. Reliquary figures were used in the cult of ancestors. The last authentic objects were confiscated by christian missionaries in the 1930's and burnt or thrown in rivers or wells. Their village chiefs wore highly decorated copper grade necklaces.
Colors play an important part in the way the mask is used.
White is death and the beyond, red ochre or red expresses life and black the evil side. These objects gathered in the Libreville Museum collection bear witness to the techniques, thought processes, social organization, beliefs, some still in existence, some gone forever, of the Gabonese people. Nowadays, masks are becoming more and more a form of art, although they still inspire a respect mixed with fear and the acknowledgement of the sacred and mysterious art of sculpting. They are the concrete representations of men's idea of the spirit. They materialized a spirit taking part in the life of the village, were used as support and life rule and punished those who transgressed the law.