The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of March 29, 2024
Figure (Nkishi)
late 1800s-early 1900s
Overall: 22.4 x 10.7 x 12.4 cm (8 13/16 x 4 3/16 x 4 7/8 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alvin N. Haas 1974.212
Location: 108A Sub-Saharan
Description
The substances contained in its cloth-covered cranial cavity indicate that this half-figure belongs to the broad category of charms or “power objects” that the Luba call mankishi. It was used by a ritual expert and functioned in a variety of rituals dealing with healing, protection, divination, or jurisdiction. Often such power figures were carved by the ritual experts rather than by professional artists.- Loed van Bussel, The Hague, the Netherlands?–1974Mr. and Mrs. Alvin N. Haas, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art1974–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1974." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 3 (1975): 62-102. p. 97, cat. no. 16, repr. p. 96 www.jstor.orgPetridis, Constantijn. South of the Sahara: selected works of African art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2003. Reproduced: cat. 33, p. 96 - 97
- Art and Power in the Central African Savanna. Menil Collection, Houston, TX (September 26, 2008-January 4, 2009); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 31, 2009).Year in Review: 1974. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 11-April 6, 1975).
- {{cite web|title=Figure (Nkishi)|url=false|author=|year=late 1800s-early 1900s|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1974.212