id: 168727
accession number: 2010.433
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.433
updated: 2023-03-22 03:04:44.044000
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:
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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:
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CREATORS
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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:
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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).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
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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:
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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.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 53 no. 05, September/October 2013
page number: Mentioned & reproduced: p. 12
url: https://archive.org/details/CMAMM2013-05/page/12
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:
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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