Male Figure (Nkisi Nkondi)
Vili (Republic of the Congo; Central Africa)
Probably early to mid-19th century
- Medium
- Wood, metal, glass, fabric, fiber, cowrie shells, bone, leather, gourd, and feathers
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Dimensions
- 73.7 × 33.1 × 28 cm (29 × 13 × 11 in.)
- Culture
- Republic of the Congo
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Africa
- Credit line
- Ada Turnbull Hertle Endowment
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
The term nkisi refers to spirit-invested objects that were empowered with medicinal and magical ingredients called bilongo. In the case of this male figure, the bilongo are enclosed in the cap on the head and in the mirror-sealed resin packet on the abdomen. The name nkondi refers to the figure’s ability to hunt down and punish wrongdoers. A nail or a blade was driven into the figure to prompt the inhabiting spirit at every consultation.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
