Lot A105 - Power Figure (Nkisi-type)

Power Figure (Nkisi-type)

Yaka or related group, possibly Teke-influenced, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Height: 25 cm

Carved wooden standing male figure with elongated head and pronounced facial features, including a projecting nose, almond-shaped eyes, and incised scarification marks on the cheeks. The figure retains ritual attachments including feathers, fiber binding around the arms and torso, and remnants of cloth around the waist.

Such figures served as power or protective objects, activated through ritual substances and attachments intended to contain spiritual forces or protective energies.

Dark brown patina with ritual wear, surface cracking, and losses to attachments. Early to mid-20th century.