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Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup). <em>Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi)</em>, late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone, 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 56.6.98. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.6.98_front_PS6.jpg)
Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup). Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi), late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone, 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 56.6.98. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.6.98_front_PS6.jpg)
Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup). <em>Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi)</em>, late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone, 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 56.6.98. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.6.98_front_PS6.jpg)

Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup). Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi), late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone, 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 56.6.98. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.6.98_front_PS6.jpg)

Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup). <em>Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi)</em>, late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone, 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 56.6.98. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.6.98_front_bw.jpg)

Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup). Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi), late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone, 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 56.6.98. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.6.98_front_bw.jpg)

Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup). <em>Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi)</em>, late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone, 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 56.6.98. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.6.98_threequarter_bw.jpg)

Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup). Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi), late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone, 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 56.6.98. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.6.98_threequarter_bw.jpg)

Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup). <em>Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi)</em>, late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone, 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 56.6.98. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.56.6.98_print_side_bw.jpg)

Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup). Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi), late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone, 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 56.6.98. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.56.6.98_print_side_bw.jpg)

Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup). <em>Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi)</em>, late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone, 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 56.6.98. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.6.98_profile_PS6.jpg)

Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup). Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi), late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone, 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 56.6.98. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.6.98_profile_PS6.jpg)

Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup). <em>Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi)</em>, late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone, 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 56.6.98. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.6.98_threequarter_PS6.jpg)

Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup). Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi), late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone, 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 56.6.98. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.6.98_threequarter_PS6.jpg)

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Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi)

Arts of Africa

An nkisi nkondi serves as a container for potent ingredients used in magic and medicine, and in judicial and healing contexts. To make an nkisi nkondi, a carver begins by sculpting a human or animal figure with a cavity in the abdomen; then a ritual expert completes the work by placing ingredients with supernatural powers on the object and in the cavity provided. He activates the figure by breathing into the cavity and immediately seals it off with a mirror. Nails and blades are driven into the figure, either to affirm an oath or to destroy an evil force. The figure’s pose suggests that it may once have been carrying a knife or spear.
CULTURE Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup)
MEDIUM Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS
DATES late 19th–early 20th century
DIMENSIONS 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm)  (show scale)
COLLECTIONS Arts of Africa
ACCESSION NUMBER 56.6.98
CREDIT LINE Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Standing figure with right arm raised, stomach has square box for magical material covered with piece of glass. Figure stands on base, mouth open, tongue protrudes, glass inlaid eyes. Surface covered with tar(?) (heavy black substance). Form almost completely covered by nails. CONDITION: Poor; wood split up legs, arms broken, wood rotted, glass on container cracked.
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup). Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi), late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone, 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 56.6.98. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.6.98_front_PS6.jpg)
IMAGE front, 56.6.98_front_PS6.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2011
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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Kongo (Solongo or Woyo subgroup). <em>Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi)</em>, late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, glass, fiber, pigment, bone, 24 x 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (61.5 x 17.0 x 21.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 56.6.98. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.6.98_front_PS6.jpg)

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