Container for nkisi force with feather headdress, Democratic Republic of Congo, 1890-1925
- Made:
- 1890-1925 in Democratic Republic of Congo
- maker:
- Bakongo people
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LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
License
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Container for nkisi force with feather headdress, Kongo people, Republic of Congo/ Democratic Republic of Congo, 1890-1925
A carved wooden figure with a feather headdress, 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. The feather headdress is a military symbol for the fight against illness. Containers in human form are not an image of the spirit thought to be inside – instead they represent the power of the nkisi force.
Details
- Category:
- Ethnography and Folk Medicine
- Collection:
- Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
- Object Number:
- A658216
- Materials:
- wood, resin, mirror, glass and feather
- Measurements:
-
overall: 420 mm x 230 mm x 160 mm, .406 kg
- type:
- statue
- credit:
- Wellcome Trust (Purchased from Stevens)
