Power Figure (Nkisi N'Kondi: Mangaaka)
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The crowning mpu cap of leadership is subject to a variety of treatments. Some carvers define its contours in relief and fill this passage with incised graphic patterns that refer to its looped and knotted designs. The level of embellishment ranges from plain to examples, such as this one, that feature painted rims across the brow. The proportionally short but powerful legs terminate in feet raised on carved blocks. Slight articulation is given to the kneecaps and ankles. Biodeterioration due to contact with the ground and insect damage has impacted the bases of many examples. The Berlin and Metropolitan figures lost the front half of their feet and were outfitted with new or partially new feet and blocks during restoration in Europe.This work was part of a group of six hundred artifacts given by Robert Visser to the Berlin museums in 1904.
Artwork Details
- Title: Power Figure (Nkisi N'Kondi: Mangaaka)
- Date: 19th century, inventoried 1904
- Geography: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chiloango River region; Republic of the Congo; Cabinda, Angola
- Culture: Kongo peoples; Yombe group
- Medium: Wood, iron, resin, ceramic, plant fiber, textile, pigment
- Dimensions: H. 47 1/4 in. (120 cm), W. 21 1/4 in. (54 cm), D. 15 1/8 in. (38.5 cm)
- Classification: Wood-Sculpture
- Credit Line: Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing