Artwork Page for Power figure (nkisi)

Details / Information for Power figure (nkisi)

Power figure (nkisi)

late 1800s–early 1900s

Africa, Central Africa, Republic of the Congo, Kongo-style maker

Medium
Wood, organic materials (including resin), cloth, metalized glass, possibly porcelain, and plant fiber
Measurements
Overall: 23 x 9 x 11 cm (9 1/16 x 3 9/16 x 4 5/16 in.)
Credit Line
René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 2010.441
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The object’s two small guns are pointing upward, but bears the label “colique,” a term referring to heavy pains caused by intestinal obstruction.

Description

This figure is one of the two tallest of the seven anthropomorphic minkisi figurines previously in the Delenne collection. Identified as an nduda, two upward “guns” are attached on its side loaded with gunpowder used to shoot witches. Its label bears the word colique, a term referring to heavy pains caused by intestinal obstruction.
A weathered wood and resin sculpture depicts a figure with a tall, rounded gray headpiece. Large white oval eyes and an open mouth mark the face. Coarse cloth wraps the neck above a large, mirror-like disk embedded in their torso. Two vertical wooden rods are tied behind their shoulders. Their short legs, with carved toes, stand on a small circular base.

Power figure (nkisi)

late 1800s–early 1900s

Africa, Central Africa, Republic of the Congo, Kongo-style maker

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