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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 asymmetrical figure wears a mpu headdress of chiefs with its characteristic geometric decoration. The pose may refer to a state of mourning.
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), cloth, glass, and various other materials; overall: 11.5 x 4.5 x 4 cm (4 1/2 x 1 3/4 x 1 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 2010.443
