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Power Figure (Nkisi N'Kondi: Mangaaka)

Kongo peoples; Yombe group

19th century, inventoried 1903

Not on view

This work and five other Mangaaka figures were acquired for German institutions by a single individual, Carl Friederich Wilhelm Robert Visser. Born in Düsseldorf in 1860, Visser took on the position of plantation director for a Dutch trading company from 1882 to 1904. During this time he established coffee and cocoa plantations in areas of French Congo at Cayo, in the Belgian Congo, and in Portuguese Congo at Chiloango. According to the information he provided for the Stuttgart inventory, this Mangaaka figure was used for “the healing of bloody vomiting.”

Power Figure (Nkisi N'Kondi: Mangaaka), Wood, metal, resin, ceramic, fiber, clay, cowrie shell, Kongo peoples; Yombe group — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Power Figure (Nkisi N'Kondi: Mangaaka), Wood, metal, resin, ceramic, fiber, clay, cowrie shell, Kongo peoples; Yombe group

Power Figure (Nkisi N'Kondi: Mangaaka), Wood, metal, resin, ceramic, fiber, clay, cowrie shell, Kongo peoples; Yombe group

Power Figure (Nkisi N'Kondi: Mangaaka), Wood, metal, resin, ceramic, fiber, clay, cowrie shell, Kongo peoples; Yombe group

Power Figure (Nkisi N'Kondi: Mangaaka), Wood, metal, resin, ceramic, fiber, clay, cowrie shell, Kongo peoples; Yombe group

Power Figure (Nkisi N'Kondi: Mangaaka), Wood, metal, resin, ceramic, fiber, clay, cowrie shell, Kongo peoples; Yombe group

Power Figure (Nkisi N'Kondi: Mangaaka), Wood, metal, resin, ceramic, fiber, clay, cowrie shell, Kongo peoples; Yombe group

Power Figure (Nkisi N'Kondi: Mangaaka), Wood, metal, resin, ceramic, fiber, clay, cowrie shell, Kongo peoples; Yombe group

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Power Figure (Nkisi N'Kondi: Mangaaka)

Date: 19th century, inventoried 1903

Geography: Cabinda, Angola, Chiloango River region

Culture: Kongo peoples; Yombe group

Medium: Wood, metal, resin, ceramic, fiber, clay, cowrie shell

Dimensions: H. 42 1/2 in. (108 cm), W. 16 1/2 in. (42 cm), D. 16 7/8 in. (43 cm)

Classification: Wood-Sculpture

Credit Line: Linden-Museum Stuttgart, Staatliches Museum für Völkenkunde

The Met

The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at The Met

The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.