Power Figure with Incised Cap (Nkisi Nkondi)

The close-fitting cap with an incised triangular band recalls the mpu, the emblem of chiefly and judicial authority. The pale, chalk-toned face evokes mpemba, the white clay of the ancestral world, and places the figure on the threshold between the living and the dead. The blue-toned eyes signal vision into the spirit world, the faculty by which an nkondi seeks out wrongdoers. Raised dots on the brow and cheeks refer to scarification, marks of status and lineage.

Rope, cloth, plant fibre, nails and blades are bound around the torso. Each element records an invocation, an oath or a dispute. The rounded capsule on the abdomen marks the seat of the bilongo.

A compact, frontal figure with a strong vertical axis. The smooth, pale face, with finely incised brows and precise dotted marks, stands above a dense torso of cord, cloth, fibre and iron, and the cool blue eyes are focal points within a palette of browns, ochres and rust. The incised cap and the carefully worked coiffure at the back of the head show a confident and economical carving hand. The integral block base gives the figure a monumental quality despite its size.