Cleveland Museum of Art

Male Figure (Nkisi)

Date

late 1800s-early 1900s

Medium

Wood, organic material (including resin), metalized glass, and cloth

Culture

Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo (most likely), Cabinda, or Republic of the Congo, probably Yombe-style maker

Department

African Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Nkisi is often associated with the word spirit , as these figures are believed to host a variety ancestral spirits. With an intact mirror-covered stomach cavity, this figure was not decommissioned before sale or disposal, deeming its particular powers sustained. The cloth knots and carvings suggest that it was used to bind agreements or oaths, and to reconcile social and cosmological contradictions. The medicinal substances remain intact in this particular figure, which is rare, as most were decommissioned before museum acquisition.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.