Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Scepter: Seated Chief above Bound Prisoner (Nkisi)
Not on view
This tip of a tusk was transformed into a chief’s scepter, completed by a packet of medicines that empowered its owner. The imagery is devoted to Kongo power dynamics. At the base, a slave in a posture of subjugation is gagged and his limbs are bound. Directly above, an enthroned chief faces in the opposite direction of the victim he dominates. Clenched in his teeth is a munkisa root. The juice of this acidic, luxuriant vine was attributed the power to repel witches. The image underscores the leader’s capacity to deflect harm from his dependents and to subjugate any rival interest.
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