Figure (Nkishi) (late 1800s–early 1900s): Art, History and Details

Figure (Nkishi) (late 1800s–early 1900s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The substances contained in its cloth-covered cranial cavity indicate that this half-figure belongs to the broad category of charms or “power objects” that the Luba call mankishi. It was used by a ritual expert and functioned in a variety of rituals dealing with healing, protection, divination, or jurisdiction. Often such power figures were carved by the ritual experts rather than by professional artists.

Object facts

• Title: Figure (Nkishi)
• Date: late 1800s–early 1900s
• Culture: Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Luba-style maker
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: Wood, organic materials (including resin and soil), plant fiber, and glass beads
• Dimensions: Overall: 22.4 x 10.7 x 12.4 cm (8 13/16 x 4 3/16 x 4 7/8 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 1974.212

A detail from the museum

Unlike most Luba arts, this figure is not connected to the royal court.

Collection credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alvin N. Haas

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1974." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 3 (1975): 62-102.
• Petridis, Constantin. Art et Pouvoir dans la Savane d'Afrique Centrale (Bruxelles: Fonds Mercator, 2008), p. 50, fig. 29.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. 1974 Year in Review. Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 3, cat. 16.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.