The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

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

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.
  • before 1960
    Jef Vanderstraete, Lasne, Belgium, sold to René and Odette Delenne.
    1960–2010
    René [1901-1998] and Odette Delenne [1925-2012], Brussels, Belgium, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2010–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 53 no. 05, September/October 2013 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 12 archive.org
    Petridis, Constantine, et al. Fragments of the Invisible: The René and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art. Milan: 5 Continents Editions, 2013, 52-53. Mentioned: pp. 23, 46, 113; reproduced: pp. 52-53, cat. 13
  • Fragments of the Invisible: The Rene and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 27, 2013-February 9, 2014).
  • {{cite web|title=Male Figure (Nkisi)|url=false|author=|year=late 1800s-early 1900s|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.433