Collection Online as of April 1, 2023

Male Figure (Nkisi)

late 1800s-early 1900s

Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cabinda, or Republic of the Congo, probably Vili-style maker

Wood, cloth, resin, organic material, feathers, natural fibers, antelope horn, seashells (including cowrie shells), glass beads, metalized glass, and plant fiber

Overall: 42 x 11.8 x 23 cm (16 9/16 x 4 5/8 x 9 1/16 in.)

René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2010.433

Location

108A Sub-Saharan

Fun Fact

Different from other figures functioning as defense against witches or misfortune, its “night guns,” or <em>nduda</em>, are missing.

Description

Nkisi is an object that is believed to host an ancestral spirit. Unusual among these figures, this nkisi figure is missing its nduda, “night guns.” These guns would be filled with gunpowder functioning as defense against witches or misfortune. Unless its guns were lost during the course of its life history, this nkisi may instead be an example of a more general type called mpanzu, whose functions included protection.

Provenance

before 1960

Jef Vanderstraete, Lasne, Belgium, sold to René and Odette Delenne.

1960–2010

René [1901-1998] and Odette Delenne [1925-2012], Brussels, Belgium, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art

2010–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 53 no. 05, September/October 2013 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 12 archive.org

Petridis, Constantine, et al. Fragments of the Invisible: The René and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art. Milan: 5 Continents Editions, 2013, 52-53. Mentioned: pp. 23, 46, 113; reproduced: pp. 52-53, cat. 13

Exhibition history

Fragments of the Invisible: The Rene and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 27, 2013-February 9, 2014).