Fetish - Wood - Nkishi - Songye - Congo DRC

An impressive Songye Nkishi, first half XXth century, complete with charges. Provenance: Gaethan Schoonbroodt, Verviers. H= 56cm. Wood, dried out animal skin, horn, metal inserts holding the skin on the forehead, raphia around the waist . insect damages on the side. (see pictures) This imposing standing figure, is the joint creation of a skilled carver and a trained ritual practitioner, or Nganga. Across Central Africa, such ritual specialists are major patrons of such power objects. Once completed, the nkishi was kept in a special enclosure positioned in a highly visible location, such as the center of the village or near the chief’s house. It was cared for by a guardian who also served as an interpreter for the nkishi whose messages were received through dreams or spirit possession. Further reading Hersak, Dunja. 1986. Songye. Masks and Figure Sculpture. London: Ethnographica. Hersak, Dunja. 2010. "Reviewing power, process, and statement: the case of Songye figures". African Arts. 43: 38-51. Neyt, François. 2009. Songye: The Formidable Statuary of Central Africa. Munich: Prestel. Petridis, Constantine. 2009. Art and power in the central African Savanna: Luba, Songye, Chokwe, Luluwa. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art.