Power figure (nkisi)
Unknown Artist
late 1800s-early 1900s
Medium
Wood, organic materials (including resin), and metalized glass
Dimensions
{"overall":{"height":0.17,"width":0.07,"depth":0.065}}
Classification
Sculpture
Department
African Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Accession Number
2010.437
About this artwork
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.