Kongo Power Figure, Democratic Republic of the Congo

English Private Collection, acquired in 1923
Mrs William A. Creeth, Highcliffe-on-Sea, Hampshire, by descent from the above
Sotheby's, London, July 13, 1971, lot 251, consigned by the above
Ralph Nash, London, acquired at the above auction
John J. Klejman, New York, acquired from the above
Edwin and Cherie Silver, Los Angeles, acquired from the above on April 8, 1972

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, Ancestors: Art and the Afterlife, October 25, 1998 - June 14, 1999

The Kongo people occupied a vast territory in west central Africa, north and south of the mouth of the Congo River in today’s Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cabinda, and Angola. While Kongo subgroups shared a common culture, social organization and language – Kikongo – southern groups were subject to the larger Kingdom of Kongo, whereas the northern Kongo, on the Loango coast, were organized in the smaller Kingdom of Loango. Both empires were highly developed states established well before the arrival of Portuguese navigators in 1483. At the center of wide spanning trading networks, they existed until the nineteenth century.

At the center of Kongo societal order were spiritually powerful and sculpturally dynamic minkisi figures (sing. nkisi). The guiding principle behind the creation of minkisi was that a ritual specialist, known as nganga, could manipulate the sculpture to release powerful malevolent or benevolent forces. These mystical forces were believed to have the ability to solve problems ranging from ill health, infertility, and other physical issues to more abstract difficulties such as asocial behavior, legal dispute, and crime. The ritualists activated these forces by filling body cavities with a mix of spiritually potent “medicinal” materials, including animal, vegetal, and mineral materials known as milongo or bilongo.

This present lot is small in size within the corpus of minkisi sculptures, meaning that it was probably in the possession of a specific individual rather than that of a large clan or the whole community. The most prominent feature on this figure is a large rectangular charge protruding from its torso, through which some ritual materials in the form of plant fibers are visible. On top of the figure’s head is a frenetic arrangement of feathers and a bulging cap, known as mpau, filled with mud and other ritual materials. The face is sculpted with a somber expression, from which the eyes – made out of mirrors and acting as charges – cast their omnipresent gaze upon the world, on guard for the misfortunes and dangers that lurk in the mortal realm.