This work was the product of close collaboration between a sculptor and the ritual specialist nganga who controlled its use in his professional practice. After an artist completed carving the figure, the nganga transformed it into an instrument capable of healing illness, settling disputes, safeguarding the peace, and punishing wrongdoers. Every nkisi is associated with a spirit that is subjected to a degree of human control. This example is especially striking for its reflective inward expression and the abundance of amulets, secondary figures, and attachments that drape the surface of its body.
This nkisi has been a highlight of the Rockefeller collection since its acquisition in 1952. An unusual example of Kongo nkisi, this work does not fit within the category defined by d'Harnoncourt as his "Desiderata" for Western Congo. Such a departure from his established collecting methodology suggests d'Harnoncourt's openness to stray occasionally from the set guidelines he was following in order to seize rare opportunities to purchase particularly moving works when they appeared on the market.
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Dimensions:H. 23 1/8 x D. 10 1/4 x W. 10 in. (58.8 x 26 x 25.4 cm)
Classification:Wood-Sculpture
Credit Line:The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
Accession Number:1979.206.127
Donald H. Peters; [Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, New York, until 1952]; Nelson A. Rockefeller, New York, 1952, on loan to the MPA, 1959–78
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art of Oceania, Africa and the Americas from The Museum of Primitive Art," May 10–August 17, 1969.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries," November 14, 1970–June 1, 1971.
American Federation of Arts. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," January 5, 1975–May 15, 1977.
Seattle Art Museum. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," January 5, 1975–February 16, 1975.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," March 23, 1975–May 4, 1975.
Dallas Museum of Art. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," June 8, 1975–July 20, 1975.
Art Institute of Chicago. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," August 25, 1975–October 10, 1975.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," November 9, 1975–December 21, 1975.
Toledo Museum of Art. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," April 11, 1976–May 25, 1976.
Walker Art Center. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," June 27, 1976–August 8, 1976.
Denver Art Museum. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," September 10, 1976–November 7, 1976.
de Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," March 12, 1977–May 15, 1977.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Nelson Rockefeller Vision: In Pursuit of 'The Best' in the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas," October 7, 2013–October 9, 2014.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Art of Oceania, Africa, and the Americas from the Museum of Primitive Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1969, no. 416.
Volavka, Zdenka. "Nkisi Figures of the Lower Kongo." African Arts vol. 5, no. 2 (Winter 1972), p. 53.
American Federation of Arts. Primitive Art Masterworks: an exhibition jointly organized by the Museum of Primitive Art and the American Federation of Arts, New York. New York: American Federation of Arts, 1974, no. 87.
African Accumulative Sculpture: Power and Display. New York: Pace Editions, 1974, p. 50, no. 102.
Newton, Douglas. Masterpieces of Primitive Art: The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978, p. 116 (figure), P. 117 (close–up of head).
Thompson, Robert Farris, and Joseph Cornet. Four Moments of the Sun: Kongo Art in Two Worlds. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1981.
Newton, Douglas, Julie Jones, and Kate Ezra. The Pacific Islands, Africa, and the Americas: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987, pp. 100–101.
MacGaffey, Wyatt, and M. Harris. Astonishment and Power. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993.
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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.
