Skip to Main Content

Artwork Page for Male Figure (Nkisi)

Details / Information for Male Figure (Nkisi)

Male Figure (Nkisi)

late 1800s-early 1900s
Wood, cloth, resin, organic material, feathers, natural fibers, antelope horn, seashells (including cowrie shells), glass beads, metalized glass, and plant fiber
Overall: 42 x 11.8 x 23 cm (16 9/16 x 4 5/8 x 9 1/16 in.)
René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 2010.433
Location: 108A Sub-Saharan
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Download, Print and Share

Print

Did You Know?

Different from other figures functioning as defense against witches or misfortune, its “night guns,” or nduda, are missing.

Description

Nkisi is an object that is believed to host an ancestral spirit. Unusual among these figures, this nkisi figure is missing its nduda, “night guns.” These guns would be filled with gunpowder functioning as defense against witches or misfortune. Unless its guns were lost during the course of its life history, this nkisi may instead be an example of a more general type called mpanzu, whose functions included protection.
Dark brown wood full-body sculpture of a figure, chin turned up and chest entirely covered in scraps of brown cloth fragments and strings. Two clusters of these cloth fragments and strings hang down and pile on the floor. On top of the figure's head sits a circular hat with a light brown cloth wrapping around long dark brown feathers and a few shorter, burnt orange feathers.

Male Figure (Nkisi)

late 1800s-early 1900s

Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cabinda, or Republic of the Congo, probably Vili-style maker

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

    Contact us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.