Large - 63 cm - African Fetish Bakongo Nkisi Nkondi twin statue - Congo.






Holds a postgraduate degree in African studies and 15 years experience in African art.
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Description from the seller
Expressive African large nail Nkondi twin statue with glass eyes from the Bakongo, Congo.
The height is 63 cm.
The protective power of this nkondi nail (the telema lwinbanganga posture adopted by the Kongo nobility and the soothsayers as a sign of absolute authority, eyes set with glass to enhance clairvoyance, knives and nails recalling the actions that sealed the community's history, and traces of polychromy with therapeutic virtues) responds to the virtuosity of the sculptural gesture. The power of the streamlined face emphasizes the sensitivity of the facial features, through which the Kongo ideal of beauty is superbly expressed: very finely modeled, fleshy mouth, slightly curved nose, shaded eyebrows, ears with detailed auricles. Stylistically, this statue is linked to the corpus of Vili sculptures.
Seller's Story
Expressive African large nail Nkondi twin statue with glass eyes from the Bakongo, Congo.
The height is 63 cm.
The protective power of this nkondi nail (the telema lwinbanganga posture adopted by the Kongo nobility and the soothsayers as a sign of absolute authority, eyes set with glass to enhance clairvoyance, knives and nails recalling the actions that sealed the community's history, and traces of polychromy with therapeutic virtues) responds to the virtuosity of the sculptural gesture. The power of the streamlined face emphasizes the sensitivity of the facial features, through which the Kongo ideal of beauty is superbly expressed: very finely modeled, fleshy mouth, slightly curved nose, shaded eyebrows, ears with detailed auricles. Stylistically, this statue is linked to the corpus of Vili sculptures.
