Among the Vili-Kongo people, nkisi play a central role in daily life. These magical-religious statues, used for divination, protection, or curse, are undoubtedly one of the most emblematic forms of art in sub-Saharan Africa today. This anthropomorphic figure stands upright, with arms spread apart from the body. In the striking face tilted forward, the sculptor has emphasized the idealized criteria of Kongo beauty: full lips with delicately outlined edges, a long aquiline nose, finely arched eyebrows, and detailed earlobes. The glass-set eyes with black pupils seem to delve into the unseen. The abdomen carries a magical charge. In this realistic statuette, the artist has captured the complexity of these Kongo statues, objects that are "ambivalent and multifunctional, both aggressive and protective and healing" (Felix, Art & Kongos, 1995, p. 67). The nuances of the patina, crusty in places, attest to the numerous manipulations undergone by this work, which serves as a fine example of Kongo-Vili art.