A fine powerfigure of the Songye people living in Congo. Ex collection of the late Andrezj von Staranburg Niedenthal, a wellknown collector in London. Now in my private Dutch collection. A male Songye fetish, a Nkisi/Nkondi powerfigure. Details about this small powerfigures with numerous hand-crafted conical nails are to find in the famous book of the late Francois Neyt: SONGYE, starting on plate 104. The body is fully covered with nails. In his book Neyt on page 351 he writes: in rare cases, figures are completely covered in brass nails, the intire body. Material: wood, metal, horn, reptileskin, beads, nut, ritual materials. Iron has a protective quality. This type of statue has been collected from the Eki and the Tempa. It is a piece for protecting an individual person, a reason why this type of figures are hard to find.