Portuguese Missionaries brought clear Christian influences to the traditional art of the Bakongo people. Thus, the locals knew the hand crosses of the missionaries and, from the 16th/17th century onwards, created their own crosses based on these models. However, the result was a slightly modified, typically ‘Kongolese’ form, called ‘Nkangi Kiditu’: initially as a wooden cross, then with cast figures and finally entirely made of yellow cast-alloy (brass) with ‘waste mold’ casting. This ‘Kongo cross’ consists of the high cross and the three small figures. These three sitting figures, two on the crosspiece, one under the Crucified, represent praying persons. All four figures of this typical Bakongo cross have ‘African’ faces. Additional pictures: -Sotheby's Auction: sold for 9,250.00 €. -A chief of the Kongo (or Bakongo) with a typical ‘Kongo cross’ Photo: ORA PRO NOBIS, Julien Volper, Etnografisch Museum, Antwerp Provenance: From the private collection of a French citizen, after have it inherited from his late grandfather, who worked as chief engineer in the mining company "Compagnie minière de l'Ogooué" (COMILOG) developing infrastructure around the Franceville region in the 1950s.