A male ‘Nkisi’ power figure from the Songye in southeastern Congo. Made of very hard, heavy wood and carved into the customary form. ‘Nkisi’ are protective figures that among the Songye used to play a major role in the healing of the sick, the administration of justice, and in the case of ‘white’ and ‘black’ magic. Small to mid-sized ‘Nkisi’ (such as the present one) were the property of individual members of the tribe, while big ‘Nkisi’ were commissioned as guardian or protector sculptures for the entire village community. The power figures were charged with ‘magical essence’ by ‘Nganga’ (priests, soothsayers, healers and so on) and namely: essence contained in an antelope horn set in the crest of the figure or in the belt, as well as in animal parts hung about it. Only with such an ‘essence’ was the ‘Nkisi’ able to sustain his ‘magical power’. The ‘Nkisi’ presented here stands strong and grounded on a round plate (carved from a single piece), carrying a black antelope’s horn with ‘magical essence’ in his belt. His eyes are slit and obliquely set, his mouth angular and ajar, with his strongly pronounced chin imparting the sculpture resolute willpower. The neck is outfitted with three rings and bejewelled with a necklace made of big, old, blue and light brown glass pearls. At the chest he has a thick girdle wrapped with snake or lizard skin (dragon skin?). And below the abdomen is a second, bigger belt wrapped in brown raffia fabric. The inside of both girdles packs ‘magical essence’. Hanging at the figure’s back, at belt-level, are pieces of old dry skin from an armadillo, showing the scales of this animal. A typical piece with good age patina and only minor age damage, the result of protracted use (a crack on the back of the head, small cracks and some pieces broken off from the plinth underneath as well as scuffing at the large-size belt). H: 48 cm (with horn). Between c. 1900 and the first third of the 20th century. (ME) ASA

Provenance: On the consignor’s account, acquired in situ in the Congo, Katanga province, in the village of Ilunga Ngulu. Currently: English Private Collection.

Lit.: ‘Songye’ by Francois Neyt, fig. 134, 135, 172, 209, 221.