Nkisi nkondi Male figure
Male figure (nkisi nkondi)
Attribution follows a published museum catalogue or peer-reviewed scholarship. Object is held in a public collection under a published accession number.
This nkisi nkondi (power figure) lacks most of the materials that transformed it into a vessel for a spirit. Carved by sculptors, minkisi hosted spirits after banganga (priests) placed substances inside to empower them. The mirrored eyes, resin cap, and stomach chamber once contained empowering materials. After the nkisi had served its purpose the nganga removed the materials, stripping it of its spiritual power; the remaining sculpture was discarded. Sometimes, Kongo people removed materials as acts of anti-colonial resistance, disempowering minkisi before Europeans seized them. While we don’t know why it was disempowered, this sculpture is no longer spiritually active.
Catalogued by Cleveland Museum of Art as “Male figure (nkisi nkondi)”, dated late 1800s-early 1900s. Harvested from the museum’s open-access record; every field below is copied from that record and none of it has been inferred.
Record
| People / culture | Kongo |
|---|---|
| Country | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Common name | Male figure (nkisi nkondi) |
| Materials | Wood, metalized glass, iron, organic material, ivory or plastic, and natural fiber |
| Dimensions | Overall: 46 x 25.7 x 19.2 cm (18 1/8 x 10 1/8 x 7 9/16 in.) |
Provenance
Jean Willy Mestach [1926-2014], Brussels, Belgium, sold to René and Odette Delenne (?–1962)
René [1901–1998] and Odette Delenne [1925–2012], Brussels, Belgium, 2010, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art (1962–2010)
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2010–)
| Collection | Cleveland Museum of Art |
|---|---|
| Accession number | 2010.432 |
Source
https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.432
This record is a catalogue entry, not an appraisal, valuation or legal determination. Nothing here should be read as evidence that an object was lawfully acquired or exported.