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Nkisi (Power Figure)

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Bookmark: http://triarte.brynmawr.edu/objects-1/info/145939



unknown Songye
Primary



Nkisi (Power Figure)

19th century - 20th century
Carved and incised wood, metal, glass, horn, and textile with patina

6.875 x 3.813 x 2 3/8 in. (17.463 x 9.685 x 6 cm)

Bryn Mawr College
Accession Number: 99.3.123
Other Number(s): 104 (235) (Neufeld Collection Number)
235 (Sotheby's Lot Number)
Acquisition Date: 12/20/1996
Geography: Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Classification: Ceremonial and Performance Artifacts; Ritual Objects
Culture/Nationality: Songye, Congolese, Central African, African
Collection: Neufeld Collection

Keywords Click a term to view the records with the same keyword
This object has the following keywords:
  • African - Refers to the cultures of the continent of Africa, which is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea.
  • Central African - Styles and cultures from a wide region of Africa that straddles the Equator and is drained largely by the Congo River system.
  • Congolese - Nationality, styles, and cultures of the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • fetishes - Objects believed to be enchanted, or have magical power to aid or protect its owner.
  • minkisi - Sculpture used to contain potent medicines that are associated with spiritual or healing power, often taking the form of carved wooden figures or assemblages of objects, such as bundles, shells, pots, and amulets. Originating in the Congo region of Africa, their use in divination, protection, and healing rites has been carried to Cuba, Haiti, Brazil, and the American South.
  • ritual objects - Objects used for a particular ritual activity, often as part of a ceremony.
  • sacred objects - Broadly, ceremonial objects that retain their sacredness in their present context. Sometimes defined more narrowly as only those needed by a present-day culture to practice their religion. For objects that are used primarily for a religious ceremony or function, but are not necessarily in themselves considered sacred, use "religious objects."
  • Songye

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Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions:

  • Owner Name: Mace Neufeld and Helen Katz Neufeld, Class of 1953
    Role: Donor
    Place: Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, US
    Ownership End Date: 12/20/1996


Bibliography List
The following Bibliography exist for this object:
  • Important Tribal Art Sotheby's . New York, NY, 1989
    Figure Number: 235
  • "African Heritage Document and Research Center." (Accessed June 11, 2020): AHDRC.eu. Record No.: 0040389.

Comparanda List
The following Comparanda exist for this object:

Related Bibliography List
The following Related Bibliography exist for this object:
  • Monica Blackmun Visona and Robin Poynor. A History of Art in Africa (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2001), 411-413. Figure Number: 12-19
  • "Dayton Art Institute Collection HIghlights." (Accessed May 15, 2020): http://www.daytonartinstitute.org/art/collection-highlights. Accession No.: 2007.114-2007.116.
  • Tom Phillips, ed. Africa: The Art of a Continent (Munich; London; New York: Prestel Verlag and Royal Academy of Arts, 1999), 283. Figure Number: 4.55
  • Jean- Baptiste Bacquart, The Tribal Arts of Africa (New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 1998), 168-171.
  • "The Met Online Collections Database." The Met Collection. (Accessed April 9, 2020): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/. Accession No.: 1978.409.
  • Dunja Hersak, "Reviewing Power, Process, and Statement: The Case of Songye Figures." African Arts 43, no. 2 (Summer 2010): 38-51.
  • Christopher D. Roy, "African Art in the Stanley Collection." African Arts 16, no. 3 (May 1983): 45, Figure Number: 18.
  • "ÌMỌ̀ DÁRA." (Accessed May 10, 2020): Imodara.com. https://www.imodara.com/discover/dr-congo-songye-nkisi-power-figure-belande/.
  • Constantine Petridis, Art and Power in the Central African Savanna: Luba, Songye, Chokwe, Luluwa (Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2008), 67-88.

Portfolio List Click a portfolio name to view all the objects in that portfolio
This object is a member of the following portfolios:

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=BMC>cite web |url=http://triarte.brynmawr.edu/objects-1/info/145939 |title=Nkisi (Power Figure) |author=Bryn Mawr College Library Special Collections |accessdate=3/28/2024 |publisher=Bryn Mawr College</ref>

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