Power Figure with Peaked Crest (Nkisi Nkondi)

The peaked crest on the crown recalls the headdresses of chiefs and banganga and marks the figure as a holder of judicial power. The white eyes (mpemba) give sight into the world of the dead, from which the nkondi draws its force. The red ears (tukula) refer to power and passage between worlds, and stress the figure’s role as a listener to oaths, pleas and accusations.

The heavy coiled bindings at the shoulders and neck echo kanga, the tying of the spirit to its task. The nails and flat blades on the torso each mark an invocation; blades were often used for the gravest matters. The arm drawn to the hip and the firmly planted legs give the bearing of a judge.

The figure is built around an oversized, egg-shaped head, carved with assurance: a heavy arched brow, broad nose and full closed lips in smooth, rounded volumes. The deep, dark patina gives the face a sombre gravity, the white eyes a direct, arresting gaze and the red ears a warm note of colour. Below the head the sculpture changes register: swelling coils lead into a dense corona of nails and flat blades whose jagged planes break the silhouette. Short, sturdy legs anchor the heavy upper body on the plinth.

Note. Attributed to the Kongo rather than the Songye: the peaked crest recalls the crest of Songye figures, but the naturalistic, fleshy face, the pigmented eyes and the combined cladding of nails and blades belong to the Kongo nkondi idiom.