Male Figure (possibly mukuya figure repurposed as nkisi) / Artist Unknown, African, Beembe Peoples Democratic Republic of the Congo
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2005/1.189
- Title
- Male Figure (possibly mukuya figure repurposed as nkisi)
- Artist Nationality
- Congolese
- Medium and Support
- wood, beads, metal, ceramic fragments
- Object Creation Date
- circa 1870
- Object Creation Place
- Africa (continent)
- Congo Republic (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Africa (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Congo Republic (nation)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern
- Dimensions
- 38 cm x 9.7 cm x 8.1 cm (14 15/16 in. x 3 13/16 in. x 3 3/16 in.)
- Century
- 19th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Sculpture
- Primary Object Type
- figure
- Secondary Object Type
- nkisi
- Physical Description
- Wood-carved, standing figure with knees slightly flexed, prominent gentalia, naturalistic face, pointed beard and eyes inset with a white material, probably small ceramic fragments. The feet are missing. It wears a metal ring around its neck, and a string with metal fragments, glass beads and a small metal bell is attached across its chest, from arm to arm. A vertical crack on the front right side of the figure is filled with a gauzy material.
- Subject Matter
- This well-worn figure may have started its life as a mukuya--a figure commemorating a clan ancestor--and was later converted into an nkisi, or power figure. Such repurposing of an important ritual object was not uncommon in the wider Bakongo region, where ritual specialists used figures like this one to invoke the power of ancestors as well as other spiritual forces to intercede in human affairs.
- Secondary Keywords
- associated concepts
- fetish figures
- objects we use
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people by family relationship
- religions and religious concepts
- religious concepts
- sculpture
- sculpture by function
- visual works
- visual works by medium or technique
- visual works by subject type
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 1002 x 2844
- File Size
- 379 KB
- Record
- 2005/1.189
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2005-sl-1.189/2005_1_189.jpg
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Related Links
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- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:2005-SL-1.189:2005_1_189.JPG
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- Full citation
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"Male Figure (possibly mukuya figure repurposed as nkisi); Artist Unknown, African, Beembe Peoples Democratic Republic of the Congo." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2005-sl-1.189/2005_1_189.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 04, 2024.
