Statue - Bakongo - DR Congo (No reserve price)

Among the Kongo, minkisi (singular: nkisi) designate a wide category of spirits embodied in sculptures endowed with the power to act upon the world.

While the anthropomorphic forms are the best known, their consecration and use fall under the nganga, ritual specialists renowned for their ability to protect, heal, or settle conflicts.

Among them, the nkondi minkisi, offensive figures armed with spears or knives, stand out for their formidable power.

The nails that cover them aim to awaken and irritate the spirit they harbor, in order to push it to act against a target.

The magical substances, sealed behind a mirror, refer to the world of the ancestors, an invisible and inverted reflection of the world of the living.