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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
This figure is of the nduda type, characterized by the attached "guns" loaded with gunpowder and used to shoot witches. It is the only figure that adopts the threatening pose: the right hand raised, holding a spear or knife, and the left hand resting on the hip. Two guns protrude horizontally on both sides of the cylindrical medicine pack on the belly, covered with a round piece of mirror.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit linePower figure (nkisi), late 1800s-early 1900s. Central Africa, Republic of the Congo, Kongo people. Wood, organic materials (including resin), probably kaolin, 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, 2010.438
