Bakongo - Nkisi fetish figure - Bakongo - DR Congo

Continuing and concluding our exceptional collection of nkisi (minkisi) figurines - BAKONGO POWER

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

The coherence of the collection, the diversity of silhouettes, and the richness of the sculptural treatments make for a presentation that is especially evocative of the ritual arts of the Kongo cultural area.

The figures stand out for their expressive faces, abdominal cavities, bindings, plant fibers, textiles, feathers and other attached elements. These features reflect the plastic vocabulary of the 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 a “fetish.” (Smithsonian National Museum of African Art)

In Kongo tradition, the sculptor shaped the figure before the nganga (ritual specialist) inserted the bilongo, substances placed in body cavities to concentrate power related in particular 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 statuette will be offered individually at auction, marking its first public sale presentation, thus giving collectors the opportunity to acquire a work within a notably coherent aesthetic and iconographic ensemble.

Presentation of our expertise house

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

We regularly assist with 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 a reserve price.

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

Shipping insured within 24 hours, with careful packaging, insurance and tracking.
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