{
"data": {
"id": 168726,
"accession_number": "2010.432",
"share_license_status": "CC0",
"tombstone": "Male figure (nkisi nkondi), late 1800s-early 1900s. Democratic Republic of Congo or Cabinda (Angola), Kongo artist and nganga (priest). Wood, metalized glass, iron, organic material, ivory or plastic, and natural fiber; overall: 46 x 25.7 x 19.2 cm (18 1/8 x 10 1/8 x 7 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Ren\u00e9 and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 2010.432",
"current_location": null,
"title": "Male figure (nkisi nkondi)",
"creation_date": "late 1800s-early 1900s",
"creation_date_earliest": 1880,
"creation_date_latest": 1920,
"artists_tags": [],
"culture": [
"Democratic Republic of Congo or Cabinda (Angola), Kongo artist and nganga (priest)"
],
"technique": "Wood, metalized glass, iron, organic material, ivory or plastic, and natural fiber",
"support_materials": [],
"department": "African Art",
"collection": "African Art",
"type": "Sculpture",
"measurements": "Overall: 46 x 25.7 x 19.2 cm (18 1/8 x 10 1/8 x 7 9/16 in.)",
"dimensions": {
"overall": {
"height": 0.46,
"width": 0.257,
"depth": 0.192
}
},
"state_of_the_work": null,
"edition_of_the_work": null,
"copyright": null,
"inscriptions": [],
"exhibitions": {
"current": [
{
"id": 202001,
"title": "Fragments of the Invisible: The Ren\u00e9 and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture",
"description": "Fragments of the Invisible: The Ren\u00e9 and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 27, 2013-February 9, 2014).",
"opening_date": "2013-10-27T00:00:00"
},
{
"id": 443702,
"title": "Currents and Constellations: Black Art in Focus",
"description": "Currents and Constellations: Black Art in Focus. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 20-June 26, 2022).",
"opening_date": "2022-02-20T05:00:00"
},
{
"id": 453007,
"title": "Julie Mehretu: Portals",
"description": "Julie Mehretu: Portals. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 16-November 13, 2022).",
"opening_date": "2022-07-16T04:00:00"
}
],
"legacy": []
},
"provenance": [
{
"description": "Jean Willy Mestach [1926-2014], Brussels, Belgium, sold to Ren\u00e9 and Odette Delenne",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [],
"date": "?\u20131962",
"sortorder": 1
},
{
"description": "Ren\u00e9 [1901\u20131998] and Odette Delenne [1925\u20132012], Brussels, Belgium, 2010, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": null,
"date": "1962\u20132010",
"sortorder": 2
},
{
"description": "The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [],
"date": "2010\u2013",
"sortorder": 3
}
],
"find_spot": null,
"related_works": [],
"former_accession_numbers": [],
"did_you_know": "A mix of locally made and imported metal nails, blades, and screws cover this figure.",
"description": "This nkisi nkondi (power figure) lacks most of the materials that transformed it into a vessel for a spirit. Carved by sculptors, minkisi hosted spirits after banganga (priests) placed substances inside to empower them. The mirrored eyes, resin cap, and stomach chamber once contained empowering materials. After the nkisi had served its purpose the nganga removed the materials, stripping it of its spiritual power; the remaining sculpture was discarded. Sometimes, Kongo people removed materials as acts of anti-colonial resistance, disempowering minkisi before Europeans seized them. While we don\u2019t know why it was disempowered, this sculpture is no longer spiritually active.",
"external_resources": {
"wikidata": [
"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80075059"
],
"internet_archive": [
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-2010.432-male-figure-nkisi-nk"
]
},
"citations": [
{
"citation": "Petridis, Constantine, et al. Fragments of the Invisible: The Rene\u0301 and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art. Milan: 5 Continents Editions, 2013, 23, 51, 96.",
"page_number": "Mentioned: pp. 23, 46-47, 113; reproduced: pp. 51, 96, cat. 12",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Smith, Fred T., Judith Perani, Joseph L. Underwood, and Martha J. Ehrlich. The Visual Arts of Africa : Gender, Power, and Life Cycle Rituals. Second edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and reproduced: p. 252, no. 9.2",
"url": ""
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.432",
"images": {
"annotation": null,
"web": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.432/2010.432_web.jpg",
"width": "688",
"height": "893",
"filesize": "322251",
"filename": "2010.432_web.jpg"
},
"print": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.432/2010.432_print.jpg",
"width": "2619",
"height": "3400",
"filesize": "5437415",
"filename": "2010.432_print.jpg"
},
"full": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.432/2010.432_full.tif",
"width": "3595",
"height": "4667",
"filesize": "50363576",
"filename": "2010.432_full.tif"
}
},
"alternate_images": [
{
"date_created": "2011-06-02T14:55:35",
"annotation": "",
"web": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/2010.432/2010.432_alt0_web.jpg",
"width": "678",
"height": "893",
"filesize": "311066"
},
"print": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/2010.432/2010.432_alt0_print.jpg",
"width": "2582",
"height": "3400",
"filesize": "5357885"
},
"full": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/2010.432/2010.432_alt0_full.tif",
"width": "3628",
"height": "4776",
"filesize": "52014088"
}
},
{
"date_created": "2011-06-02T15:11:58",
"annotation": "",
"web": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/2010.432/2010.432_alt1_web.jpg",
"width": "695",
"height": "893",
"filesize": "316340"
},
"print": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/2010.432/2010.432_alt1_print.jpg",
"width": "2646",
"height": "3400",
"filesize": "5447575"
},
"full": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/2010.432/2010.432_alt1_full.tif",
"width": "3711",
"height": "4767",
"filesize": "53101284"
}
},
{
"date_created": "2011-06-02T15:20:17",
"annotation": "",
"web": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/2010.432/2010.432_alt2_web.jpg",
"width": "708",
"height": "893",
"filesize": "314456"
},
"print": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/2010.432/2010.432_alt2_print.jpg",
"width": "2694",
"height": "3400",
"filesize": "5512370"
},
"full": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/2010.432/2010.432_alt2_full.tif",
"width": "3653",
"height": "4610",
"filesize": "50554696"
}
},
{
"date_created": "2011-06-02T15:29:24",
"annotation": "",
"web": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/2010.432/2010.432_alt3_web.jpg",
"width": "679",
"height": "893",
"filesize": "301604"
},
"print": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/2010.432/2010.432_alt3_print.jpg",
"width": "2584",
"height": "3400",
"filesize": "5239299"
},
"full": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/2010.432/2010.432_alt3_full.tif",
"width": "3608",
"height": "4746",
"filesize": "51405368"
}
},
{
"date_created": "2011-06-02T15:37:57",
"annotation": "",
"web": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/2010.432/2010.432_alt4_web.jpg",
"width": "695",
"height": "893",
"filesize": "324441"
},
"print": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/2010.432/2010.432_alt4_print.jpg",
"width": "2645",
"height": "3400",
"filesize": "5499908"
},
"full": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/2010.432/2010.432_alt4_full.tif",
"width": "3641",
"height": "4679",
"filesize": "51140992"
}
}
],
"creditline": "Ren\u00e9 and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund",
"image_credit": null,
"sketchfab_id": null,
"sketchfab_url": null,
"gallery_donor_text": null,
"athena_id": 168726,
"creators": [],
"legal_status": "accessioned",
"accession_date": "2006-06-05T00:00:00",
"sortable_date": 1880,
"date_added_to_oa": null,
"date_text": "late 1800s-early 1900s",
"collapse_artists": false,
"on_loan": false,
"recently_acquired": false,
"record_type": "object",
"conservation_statement": null,
"has_conservation_images": false,
"cover_accession_number": null,
"is_nazi_era_provenance": false,
"impression": null,
"alternate_titles": [
"Male Figure"
],
"is_highlight": false,
"updated_at": "2026-03-27 00:05:52.688000"
}
}