id: 168727 accession number: 2010.433 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.433 updated: 2022-09-29 09:00:34.621000 Male Figure (Nkisi), late 1800s-early 1900s. Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cabinda, or Republic of the Congo, probably Vili-style maker. Wood, cloth, resin, organic material, feathers, natural fibers, antelope horn, seashells (including cowrie shells), glass beads, metalized glass, and plant fiber; overall: 42 x 11.8 x 23 cm (16 9/16 x 4 5/8 x 9 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2010.433 title: Male Figure (Nkisi) title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: late 1800s-early 1900s creation date earliest: 1880 creation date latest: 1920 current location: 108A Sub-Saharan creditline: René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund copyright: --- culture: Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cabinda, or Republic of the Congo, probably Vili-style maker technique: Wood, cloth, resin, organic material, feathers, natural fibers, antelope horn, seashells (including cowrie shells), glass beads, metalized glass, and plant fiber department: African Art collection: African Art type: Sculpture find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 42 x 11.8 x 23 cm (16 9/16 x 4 5/8 x 9 1/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Fragments of the Invisible: The Rene and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture opening date: 2013-10-27T00:00:00 Fragments of the Invisible: The Rene and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 27, 2013-February 9, 2014). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * --- PROVENANCE Jef Vanderstraete, Lasne, Belgium, sold to René and Odette Delenne. date: before 1960 footnotes: citations: René [1901-1998] and Odette Delenne [1925-2012], Brussels, Belgium, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art date: 1960–2010 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 2010– footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: Different from other figures functioning as defense against witches or misfortune, its “night guns,” or nduda, are missing. digital description: Nkisi is an object that is believed to host an ancestral spirit. Unusual among these figures, this nkisi figure is missing its nduda, “night guns.” These guns would be filled with gunpowder functioning as defense against witches or misfortune. Unless its guns were lost during the course of its life history, this nkisi may instead be an example of a more general type called mpanzu, whose functions included protection. wall description: Nkisi is an object that is believed to host an ancestral spirit. Unusual among these figures, this nkisi figure is missing its nduda, “night guns.” These guns would be filled with gunpowder functioning as defense against witches or misfortune. Unless its guns were lost during the course of its life history, this nkisi may instead be an example of a more general type called mpanzu, whose functions included protection. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Petridis, Constantine, et al. Fragments of the Invisible: The René and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art. Milan: 5 Continents Editions, 2013, 52-53. page number: Mentioned: pp. 23, 46, 113; reproduced: pp. 52-53, cat. 13 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.433/2010.433_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.433/2010.433_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.433/2010.433_full.tif