Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Luba-style maker / late 1800s–early 1900s
Figure (Nkishi)
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Figure (Nkishi) as sculpture (Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Luba-style maker · late 1800s–early 1900s).
Unlike most Luba arts, this figure is not connected to the royal court.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as Wood, organic materials (including resin and soil), plant fiber, and glass beads.
The museum's collection notes: The substances contained in its cloth-covered cranial cavity indicate that this half-figure belongs to the broad category of charms or “power objects” that the Luba call mankishi . It was used by a ritual expert and functioned in a variety of rituals dealing with healing, protection, divination, or jurisdiction. Often such power figures were carved by the ritual experts rather than by professional artists.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtFigure (Nkishi)Original explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.