Nail Fetish "nkisi n'kondi" · D. R. Congo, Dondo / Kamba / Bwende · ID: 3045323
Jan Lundberg, Malmö, Sweden
Mark Eglinton, New York, USA
Maureen Zarember, New York City, USA
Description
wood, iron, plant fibre, cloth, rep., base
The torso is studded by iron nails and metal blades. Nail fetishes were used as vehicles for diviners to communicate with spirits and to cajole them in witnessing human’s activities and deal making.
It was Raoul Lehuard who, in his seminal book, “Art Bakongo, Les Centres de Style” (1989), was the first to identify the “Dondo-Kamba style” in the Niari valley in North-Eastern Kongo country. The style he outlined was defined more precisely by Marc Felix in “Art & Kongos” (1995).
Comparing literature
Lehuard, Raoul, Art Bakongo, Les Centres de Style, Vol. II, o.O. 1989, p. 627 Lehuard, Raoul, Art Bakongo, Les Centres de Style, Vol. I, o. O., 1989, p. 157 ff Felix, Marc L., Art & Kongos, Brussels 1995, p. 177 ff.
Publications
"Art in Motion, Cultures: The Worlds Arts Fair" in: Tribal Art Magazine, No 80, Summer 2016, p. 38AHDRC: 0132734