Bakongo - Nkisi fetish figure - Bakongo - DR Congo

Part and final installment of our exceptional collection of nkisi (minkisi) statues – BAKONGO POWER

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

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

The figures are distinguished by their expressive faces, abdominal cavities, ties, plant fibers, textiles, feathers and other added elements. These features reference 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 moreover goes beyond the Western notion of “fetish.” (Smithsonian National Museum of African Art)

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

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 a nearly 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 sales often 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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