BAKONGO POWER COLLECTION - Nkisi power figure - Bakongo - DR Congo

Exceptional collection of nkisi (minkisi) statuettes - BAKONGO POWER

This ensemble brings together a remarkable corpus of statuettes inspired by the Kongo tradition (Bakongo).

The coherence of the whole, the diversity of silhouettes and the richness of the sculptural treatments make it a particularly evocative presentation of the ritual arts of the Kongo cultural area.

The figures are distinguished by their expressive faces, their abdominal cavities, their ligatures, vegetable fibers, textiles, feathers and other attached elements.
These features refer to the plastic vocabulary of minkisi (singular: nkisi), sculptures intended to embody a spiritual force or a specific function within Kongo societies.
The term nkisi goes beyond the Western notion of "fetish". (Smithsonian National Museum of African Art)

In the Kongo tradition, the sculptor shaped the figure before the nganga (ritual specialist) inserted the bilongo, substances placed in body cavities in order to concentrate power linked in particular to protection, healing, mediation or maintenance of social order. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

This set offers a particularly seductive panorama of one of the major sculptural repertoires of Central Africa.

Each statuette will be offered individually at auction, marking its first public sales presentation, thereby giving collectors the opportunity to acquire a work within a remarkably coherent aesthetic and iconographic ensemble.

Presentation of our house of expertise

Based in Belgium, our house of expertise and sale specializes in African art and ethnography. A leading seller on Catawiki for more than 8 years, we enjoy a solid reputation and a history of several hundred sales with an almost 100% satisfaction rate.

We regularly assist in liquidations, successions and dispersals of collections, in collaboration with individuals and families in Belgium and neighboring countries. Our approach is rigorous, transparent and accessible, with sales often proposed without reserve price.

Some pieces that have passed through our hands have joined international private collections and, for some, museum institutions.

Shipping arranged within 24 h, with careful packaging, insurance and tracking.
Contact 7 days a week: we remain available for any question or request for additional information.