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Power figure (nkisi)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
One of seven anthropomorphic figurines, these minkisi contained medicines in which an ancestral spirit was believed to reside. The medicines served a metaphorical rather than literal purpose in the resolution of conflicts among Kongo people. This figure contained white- and red-colored medicine loads on its belly and back. Its pose may refer to the nkisi ’s capacity to see more than others.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit linePower figure (nkisi), late 1800s-early 1900s. Africa, Central Africa, Republic of the Congo, Kongo-style maker. Wood, organic materials (including resin), and metalized glass; overall: 17 x 7 x 6.5 cm (6 11/16 x 2 3/4 x 2 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 2010.437
