NKODIA
NKODIA
Nkodia statuette (a variant of the nkisi statuettes) from Yombe (Kongo).
20th century.Height: 49 cm.Medium-weight wood. The left-hand side of the figure is blue, the right-hand side red; the two are separated by a white line running vertically down the figure. How can one fail to see in this unusual juxtaposition of the colours of the French flag an allusion to the power of the coloniser, thus transferred to the statuette to emphasise the protruding belly and the male genitalia?The figure is depicted with one hand resting on the hip and the other on the knee, turning his head to one side. The ribs are visible and no doubt evoke a condition known as lubanzi (the ribs) or some other form of pneumonia.The face is finely sculpted. The two upper teeth and the protruding tongue are clearly visible in the slightly parted mouth.
NKODIA
Nkodia statuette (a variant of the nkisi statuettes) from Yombe (Kongo).
20th century.Height: 49 cm.Medium-weight wood. The left-hand side of the figure is blue, the right-hand side red; the two are separated by a white line running vertically down the figure. How can one fail to see in this unusual juxtaposition of the colours of the French flag an allusion to the power of the coloniser, thus transferred to the statuette to emphasise the protruding belly and the male genitalia?The figure is depicted with one hand resting on the hip and the other on the knee, turning his head to one side. The ribs are visible and no doubt evoke a condition known as lubanzi (the ribs) or some other form of pneumonia.The face is finely sculpted. The two upper teeth and the protruding tongue are clearly visible in the slightly parted mouth.
