Fetish Figure ‘Nkisi’

Songye, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Early 20th century

Wood, Metal, Animal + Reptile Skin, Ritual Patina

22cm Tall

Provenance:

Private American Collection

James Stephenson, Brooklyn

John Dubrow, New York

Small figures were at one point relatively common among the Songye, serving as portable spiritual vessels to be used by diviners in a variety of rituals concerning healing, cursing, and justice. This particular example shows great age and signs of extended ritual use, testified by the thick layers of oils on the head and neck. The exaggerated head bears an expression of contentedness, with a small smiling mouth and closed eyes complemented by a swept-back coiffure and hole in the head packed with medicine. On the torso is a binding of metal and snake skin, which contains ceremonial substances used to further empower the figure. The remains of a leather skirt add an additional layer of multimedia to adorn the object and bring it a sense of vitality which is often lost when figures are stripped of their accoutrement.