Power Figure

Original Language TitleNkisi Nkondi

CultureKongo peoples

Dateearly-mid-1800s

MediumWood, metal, textile, leather

DimensionsOverall: 30 11/16 × 16 1/8 × 8 11/16 inches (78 × 41 × 22 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust through the George H. and Elizabeth O. Davis Fund

Object number2016.65

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

African Art

Terms

DescriptionFigurative sculpture made of wood with metal fragments embedded throughout, especially the front of the figure. The figure's standing pose includes the left had resting on the hip and right arm raised. The raised right fist would have originally brandished a weapon.Gallery Label

Gallery Label

An nkisi nkondi is a power figure that helps serve the needs of a community. As part of spiritual practices among the Kongo peoples, an nganga, or healer, would have placed medicine on this figure's body to imbue it with power. The nganga would then have called upon the sculpture to perform certain tasks, such as healing individuals or providing protection against negative spirits. To end each of these transactions, the nganga would lick a nail or piece of metal and then hammer it into the sculpture. This served both as documentation of the interaction and as a way to activate the figure's powerful medicine.

Provenance

William Ockelford Oldman (1879-1949), London, by November 17, 1921 [1];

Private collection, Belgium [2];

Bernd Muhlack (1937-2020), Kiel, Germany;

Private collection, Europe [3];

Purchased at African and Oceanic Art, Sotheby's, Paris, December 14, 2016, lot 59, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2016.

NOTES:

[1] William O. Oldman offered to sell his entire African collection to the Brooklyn Museum in a letter dated November 17, 1921. The subsequent correspondence between Oldman and Brooklyn includes a sales photograph, in which this object is numbered 54. This photo accompanies a letter from Oldman to Stewart Culin, Brooklyn Museum, January 13, 1922, Brooklyn Museum Archives: Culin Archival Collection, S01_04_01_007, Research: African Art Exhibition of 1923. A list of objects also included with this letter identifies no. 54 as “130 Fetish Figures, large and small. Every one shows a variety, practically all are very old & fine.” With thanks to the Brooklyn Museum staff for their assistance with this research.

[2] Provenance between Oldman and the Nelson-Atkins is according to Sotheby’s Paris, see Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie (Paris: Sotheby’s, December 14, 2016). The identity of the private collections is currently unknown.

[3] Ibid.

Published References

Robert Hales, “How a Chance visit with a London Art Dealer Led Me to William Oldman,” Tribal Art 81 (Autumn 2016), 154, (repro.).

Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie (Paris: Sotheby’s, December 14, 2016).

Julian Zugazagoitia and Laura Spencer. Director's Highlights: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Celebrating 90 Years, ed. Kaitlyn Bunch (The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2024), 187, (repro.).

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.