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

Exceptional collection of nkisi (minkisi) sculptures - BAKONGO POWER

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

The coherence of the set, 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 bindings, plant 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 also transcends the Western notion of “fetish.” (Smithsonian National Museum of African Art)

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

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

Each figurine will be offered individually at auction, marking its first public sales presentation, thereby giving collectors the opportunity to acquire a work within a strikingly cohesive aesthetic and iconographic whole.

Presentation of our expert house

Based in Belgium, our expert and sales house specializes in African art and ethnography. A leading seller on Catawiki for over 8 years, we enjoy a solid reputation and a track record 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 many sales offered without reserve prices.

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

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