Fine African Art Auction
Lot 282:
Representation of a eurocentric doctor. Height 12.125 inches. Paint loss.
In western regions of the Kongo, the nganga priest of the nkisi sometimes wore a mask. Nganga and nkisi resembled one another and shared in the meditation of the same powers, any nkisi, whether or not its principal container was an anthropomorphic figure, was an outward appearance (in effect, a mask) a mask for which the power is contained. The mask is called ngonundi ( something frightening. The word mpemba in the name of the nkisi of which this mask refers to the predominantly white color of this mask, which white being the color of the dead.
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