Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Power Figure (Nkisi N'Kondi: Mangaaka)
Not on view
The crowning mpu cap of leadership is subject to a variety of treatments. Some carvers define its contours in relief and fill this passage with incised graphic patterns that refer to its looped and knotted designs. The level of embellishment ranges from plain to examples, such as this one, that feature painted rims across the brow. The proportionally short but powerful legs terminate in feet raised on carved blocks. Slight articulation is given to the kneecaps and ankles. Biodeterioration due to contact with the ground and insect damage has impacted the bases of many examples. The Berlin and Metropolitan figures lost the front half of their feet and were outfitted with new or partially new feet and blocks during restoration in Europe.This work was part of a group of six hundred artifacts given by Robert Visser to the Berlin museums in 1904.
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