Nail-studded figure, Democratic Republic of Congo, 1880-1920

Made:
1880-1920 in Democratic Republic of Congo
maker:
Bakongo people
Nail-studded container for nkisi force Nail-studded container for nkisi force

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

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Nail-studded container for nkisi force
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Nail-studded container for nkisi force
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Nail-studded container for nkisi force, carved wooden figure with mirrored container, Bakongo people, west-central Africa, 1880-1920

A carved wooden figure with the body covered in nails, used as a container for the nkisi force. In BaKongo belief, an ancestor or spirit is named as the nkisi force and harnessed in a container for use in healing. Nails hammered into this figure make the nkisi force active.

Details

Category:
Ethnography and Folk Medicine
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A197491
Materials:
wood, iron and cloth
type:
statue
credit:
Wellcome Trust (Purchased from Stevens)