Power figure (nkisi)
1880–1920
- Medium
- Wood, organic materials (including resin), cloth, metalized glass, possibly porcelain, and plant fiber
- Dimensions
- Overall: 23 x 9 x 11 cm (9 1/16 x 3 9/16 x 4 5/16 in.)
- Genre
- Sculpture
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art
Styles
Tags
Africa, Central Africa, Republic of the Congo, Kongo-style maker
About
This figure is one of the two tallest of the seven anthropomorphic minkisi figurines previously in the Delenne collection. Identified as an nduda, two upward “guns” are attached on its side loaded with gunpowder used to shoot witches. Its label bears the word colique, a term referring to heavy pains caused by intestinal obstruction.