Mask - Congo (No reserve price)

Kongo Nkondi dog Kosso (From a private collection of African art BE. This Kosso stands upright on its hind legs.

Desiccation at the level of the head with Indigenous repair using metal inserts. Two circular eyes, a closed mouth.

The entire body is covered with iron nails. On the lower part of the front legs, a tangle of ropes. The magical charge is located on the back behind a bezel-set glass.

The nail fetishes or "Nkondi" were activated by the chants of the "Nganga" in order to awaken their forces, but also by making an explosion at its feet and by inserting a nail into the wood of the statue. It serves as a mediator between the world of the living and the dead.

The "Nkondi" can take the form of a warrior holding a spear, or, in this case, the form of a dog or "Koso." Generally, this type of statue is bi-cephalic, for among the Kongo dogs have four eyes, with the power to see beyond the world of the living, and thus to detect people who have ill intentions......gongo gongo