Head fragment of a power figure "nkisi" ·  D. R. Congo, Songye · ID: 3042882

Description

wood, brown patina, missing parts through insect caused damage, nose partly missing, cracks, slight traces of abrasion, base.
The head should once have been part of a big figure, which belonged to a village or a community. These sculptures are created above all to promote fecundity and fertility or to insure tranquility in the village. Most frequently they bear the names “ya ntambwe” (lion) or “ya nkima” (monkey). Often these are the priestesses entrusted with their care and their appearances, particularly during the ceremonies of the new moon (the moon is regarded as the fecund principle).

The object Head fragment of a power figure “nkisi” with the object ID 3042882 was last part of the auction 87th Tribal Art Auction at November 11, 2017 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 463 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,800.

You can find more Figures and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.