Object Details
- Label Text
- The small, mirror-covered box on the torso holds medicinal substances. Owned by a ritual specialist, this nkisi figure called spirits either to heal or to render justice.
- Description
- Wood standing female figure on a plinth, with proper left arm raised to her breast and proper right arm at her side, inlaid glass eyes and mirror covered resin box on the lower torso.
- Provenance
- European dealer, 1950s
- Allan Frumkin, Chicago/New York, 1950s to 1998
- Exhibition History
- Healing Arts, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 2016 - June 26, 2019
- Recent Acquisitions 2000, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., May 13, 1999-January 24, 2000
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Data Source
- National Museum of African Art
- Maker
- Kongo artist
- Date
- Late 19th-early 20th century
- Credit Line
- Gift of Allan Frumkin
- Medium
- Wood, resin, pigment, mirror, glass
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 19 x 5.9 x 6.4 cm (7 1/2 x 2 5/16 x 2 1/2 in.)
- Type
- Figure
