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Power Figure: Male (Nkisi Nkondi)

19th–20th century
Not on view
This work was the product of a collaboration between a sculptor and the initiated priest "nganga," who controlled its use in his professional practice. After an artist completed carving the artifact, the "nganga" transformed it into an object capable of healing illness, settling disputes, safeguarding the peace, and punishing wrongdoers. Each work of this kind or "nkisi" is associated with a spirit, that is subjected to a degree of human control. The term "nkisi" may relate to a wide spectrum of physical receptacles, including cloth packets, filled vessels, as well as the carved wood sculptures studied by art historians.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Power Figure: Male (Nkisi Nkondi)
  • Date: 19th–20th century
  • Geography: Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Culture: Kongo peoples
  • Medium: Wood, mirror, cloth, paint, pigment
  • Dimensions: H. 24 x W. 9 5/8 x D. 7 3/4 in. (61 x 24.5 x 19.7 cm)
  • Classification: Wood-Sculpture
  • Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
  • Object Number: 1979.206.50
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Nkisi (power figure), Kongo artist and nganga, Wood, pigment, resin, iron, brass, tin, cloth, plant fiber cord, beads, cowrie shells, bone or ivory, arrows, leather, seeds, animal horn, Kongo
Nkisi (power figure)
Kongo artist and nganga
19th–first half of 20th century
Nkishi (community power figure), Songye artist and nganga (ritual specialist), Wood, copper, brass, iron, fiber, snakeskin, leather, fur, feathers, mud, resin, Songye peoples
Nkishi (community power figure)
Songye artist and nganga (ritual specialist)
19th–first half of 20th century
Ancestor figure, Teke artist, Wood (ngasu or mulong), cloth, organic matter, pigment, Teke peoples
Ancestor figure
Teke artist
19th century
Power Figure (Nkisi): Kneeling Male, Kongo artist, Wood, cloth traces, applied organic matter, bone, resin, Kongo peoples
Power Figure (Nkisi): Kneeling Male
Kongo artist
19th–first half of 20th century
Female nkisi (power figure), Kongo artist and nganga (ritual specialist), Wood, resin, glass, pigment, cloth, fur, string, Kongo peoples
Female nkisi (power figure)
Kongo artist and nganga (ritual specialist)
Late 19th–early 20th century

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