Fine African Art Auction
Lot 245:
Wood, glass, metals, pigments, animals horns and other materials necessary to invoke the spirit.
Height 33 inches, width 13 inches.
Embodies Strength, Power, to Heal, and or to Punish. Late 1800s. Kongo Power Figure
Nkisi nkonde, functions as a hunter healer of conflicts. The figure was commissioned, owned and activated by the nganga specialist, who was trained and tested as a counselor or mediator skilled in treating afflictions of the body and spirit. Nails or blades were hammered into the work to seal a bow or to awaken its power to solve a problem or dispute. The figure had an open mouth suggesting uttering of judgments or decrees and declarations and mirrors in the abdomen and eyes to deflect danger.
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