The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 19, 2024
Male Figure (Nkisi)
late 1800s-early 1900s
(most likely)
Overall: 17 x 5.3 x 7 cm (6 11/16 x 2 1/16 x 2 3/4 in.)
Location: 108A Sub-Saharan
Did You Know?
The medicinal substances remain intact in this particular figure, which is rare, as most were decommissioned before museum acquisition.Description
Nkisi is often associated with the word spirit, as these figures are believed to host a variety ancestral spirits. With an intact mirror-covered stomach cavity, this figure was not decommissioned before sale or disposal, deeming its particular powers sustained. The cloth knots and carvings suggest that it was used to bind agreements or oaths, and to reconcile social and cosmological contradictions.- ?–1972(René De Wolf, Brussels, BE, sold to René and Odette Delenne)1972–2010René [1901-1998] and Odette Delenne [1925-2012], Brussels, BE, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art2010–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- 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, 50. Mentioned: pp. 23, 46-47, 113; reproduced: p. 50, cat. 10
- 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=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.434