Bidspirit auction | African Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi),

African Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi), Songye Peoples, Congo Basin, Mid-20th Century - Carved wooden power figure depicting a stylized standing male form with a tall crested coiffure and deeply striated facial features, bound with ritual wrappings and organic materials including fiber, cloth, feathers, and amulets. Figures of this type, known as Nkisi Nkondi among the Songye, were used by ritual specialists (nganga) as protective and mediatory objects, believed to embody spiritual forces activated through offerings or oaths. The surface exhibits reddish-brown pigment and thick ritual accretions from traditional use. Approx. 23 in. H, 8 in. W Condition: Surface encrustations, fiber and cloth wear, small losses and age cracks consistent with ceremonial use and mid-20th-century age; stable overall.