| Nail fetish comparisons |
| If you came to this page just looking for information on the Kongo nail fetish figures then I would say your best bet is to go to the information page for these figures on my website. CLICK HERE to go to the page. _____________________________________________________________________ This page still isn't completed, I am working on it as I have time. I am putting together comparisons of Kongo nail fetish figures (nkisis and nkondi). This page contains the "good examples" and is the 2nd page of the comparisons. If you came directly to this page and you want to look at some examples that I think are not so good before you look at the good examples below, CLICK HERE to go to PAGE 1 of the comparisons. _____________________________________________________________________ The second set of examples... The old and published figures and pieces with provenance and figures from auctions |
| Sotheby's - New York African & Oceanic Art Auction Date : Nov 14, 2003 Lot 87 : A MAGNIFICENT KONGO POWER FIGURE Description DETAILED DESCRIPTION nkisi nkondi, standing on a square base and pitched forward, the large oval head projecting to the front and arms akimbo, the torso inset with multiple iron nails and fragmentary blades encircling a hollowed rectangular cavity at the center, beneath a finely carved head with broad diamond-shaped mouth overlaid by encrusted red ochre beneath the linear nose and inset oval porcelain eyes, wearing an elaborate encrusted magic bundle at the crown; varied and encrusted blackened patina with traces of red ochre. Dimensions height 22 1/4 in. 56cm Estimate:$ 70,000 - $ 100,000 Price Realized:$ 84,000 Provenance PROPERTY FROM A BELGIAN COLLECTOR Leendert van Lier, Amsterdam, acquired early 1950's Christie's Amsterdam, April 15, 1997, lot 26 Notes Cf. Lehuard (1980: figure 109) for a related figure from the Chiloango valley with arms akimbo and extended tongue. Blades and nails are inserted into these power figures as a means to resolve conflict. The healer, nganga, may have the parties involved in the arbitration lick the blades before they are inserted, thus binding them to the oaths. This measure is visually symbolized by the aggressive extended tongue on the offered lot which is further highlighted with red pigment. Each blade is a condensation of the words and oaths of the conflict at hand, mambu. Further, the figure stands with his hands on his hips, the pakalala gesture, symbolizing its readiness to take on any dispute (Thompson 1981: 38-39). |
| Sotheby's - New York Arts of Africa, Oceania & The Americas Auction Date : May 17, 2002 Lot 50 : A FINE AND RARE KONGO OATH TAKING AND HEALING FIGURE Description nkisi nkondi, standing on wedge-shaped feet and straight legs, with one arm raised and the other akimbo, the body pitched foward, a fragmentary magic bundle attached at the torso, the large head with square jawline, tapering chin and full lips, beneath the naturalistic nose and almond-shaped eyes inset with glass, and wearing a fiber necklace with magic substance suspended from the neck, the whole inset with numerous pegs and iron nails of various shapes; aged and weathered patina with blackening and encrustation at the face. Estimate:$ 150,000 - $ 250,000 Price Realized:$ 202,000 Provenance Probably Governor Vewhilgen, gift from Chief Nembao(?) before 1900, near Banane/Osolongo area Musée de la Porte de Hal, by 1902 Royal Museum of Central Africa, Tervuren, no. 6685, Gift of H. Janssen Baron Freddy Rolin, New York and Brussels Sotheby's |
| Figure, nkondi Kongo Wood, pigment, mirror, nails, fiber H. 30 cm Tomkins Collection Nkondi (plural minkondi), a subcategory of nkisi, is embedded with nails and iron blades. "The business of nkondi was to identify and hunt down unknown wrong-doers, such as thieves and those who were believed to have caused sickness and death among their neighbors by occult means; nkondi could also punish those who swore false oaths and villages that broke treaties entered into under their [minkondi] supervision...To provoke nkondi...nails, blades and other hardware were driven into it. Angered by these injuries, nkondi would mysteriously fly to the attack, inflicting on the wrong-doer similar harm." (Phillips 1995: 246) Provenance: Ernst Anspach, New York, 1995 "...The object has been in my collection since June 1967 when I acquired it from a Dutch dealer. According to Frere Joseph Cornet at the time of his visit director of the Kinshasa Museum, it was the most beautiful small nail fetish he had ever seen." (Anspach, June 21,1995) Dutch dealer 1967 Publishing History: Michael Vlach. The Afro-American Tradition in Decorative Arts. Washington DC. Smithsonian Institution, 1978: plate 78. |
| Figure, nkondi Kongo Wood, mirror, feathers, metal, fiber, various materials H. 65 cm Tomkins Collection Provenance: Merton D. Simpson Gallery, New York, 1999 Arman Foundation for Traditional Art, 1997 Sotheby's London. July 2, 1990: lot 134. Publishing History: African Faces, African Figures: The Arman Collection. New York. The Museum for African Art, 1997: catalogue number 146. Arman & l'Art Africain. Marseille. Musée de Marseille. Réunion Musées Nationaux, 1996: 103 (fig.52). Raoul Lehuard. "Art bakongo. Les centres de style." Arts d'Afrique noire 2, Arnouville, 1989: 258- 259 (D-8-1-10). |
| Figure, nkondi Kongo Wood, metal, cloth, fiber H.65 cm Tomkins Collection Provenance: Arman Collection, 1999 Sotheby's Tribal Art, London, March 26, 1990: lot 146 and cover. Museum für Völkerkunde, Leipzig (MAS 8970 on reverse) Collected by Robert Visser, 1903 Robert Visser, head of a Dutch trading company in the Lower Kongo region, was the main purveyor of Kongo art for the Berlin and Stuttgart Museums from 1902 - 1909. Publishing History: African Faces, African Figures: The Arman Collection. New York. The Museum for African Art, 1997: 104-105 (number 54). Arman & l'art Africain. Marseille. Musée de Marseille. Réunion Musées Nationaux, 1996: 105, fig.54. |
| Power Figure (Nkisi), 19th–20th century Kongo peoples; Democratic Republic of Congo Wood, paint, nails, cloth, beads, shells, arrows, leather, nuts, twine; H. 23 5/32 in. (58.7 cm) The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 (1979.206.127) Metropolitan Museum of Art |
| Nkondi figure on display at the American Museum of Natural History in NY |
| Nkondi figure in the collection the American Museum of Natural History in NY FETICH, FIGURE [90.0/ 3665] AFRICAN ETHNOGRAPHIC COLLECTION Culture: KONGO? Locale: MARITIME PROVINCE? Country: CONGO FREESTATE Material: WD,CLOTH,CORD,GLASS,PL FBR,PITCH,PIGMENT Dimensions: W:14.6 H:36.7 [in CM] Donor: BELGIAN GOVERNMENT Acquisition Year: 1907 Published in: NOTES CONCERNING NEW COLLECTIONS. ( by WISSLER, CLARK (ED) ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS, Volume 2, 1909) |
| 19th century Wood and mixed media, h. 58.5 cm Purchased through the Mrs. Harvey P. Hood W '18 Fund, The William B. Jaffe and Evelyn A. Jaffe Hall Fund, the William B. Jaffe Memorial Fund, the William S. Rubin Fund, The Julia L. Whittier Fund, and gifts by exchange. The Hood Museum, Dartmouth |
| Information coming soon... |
| Information coming soon... |
| Information coming soon... |
| An interesting example that to me doesn't look very old and is a figure that I personally don't think of as a "good example" It recently sold for $17,000 at an auction. http://www.arteprimitivo.com/scripts/detail.asp?LOT_NUM=113101 Lot# & Name: 484. Yombe Nail Fetish Figure Estimate: $15,000-$20,000 High Bid: $17,000.00 Auction Closed(Final Price) $17,000.00 Category: African Sub Category: Congo (D.R.C.) Culture or Country: Congo. Period: -- Size: 11-1/8"H. Description: A fine carved hardwood example depicting a standing male figure having a mirrored compartment on his stomach. Body covered with iron blade inserts and nails. Right arm raised above shoulder, left hand on waist. Well carved facial features with inset glass eyes. Old medium red-brown surface with mellow patina. Intact, overall exc. cond. A beautiful example. Provenance: Private N.Y.C. collection, Ex. Sothebys, N.Y. |
| Additional information soon |
| Rand African Art home page Go to the "Bad or not so good examples" comparison page Additional information and examples can be found on the following pages of my website: http://www.randafricanart.com/Bakongo_Nkondi_figure.html http://www.randafricanart.com/Kongo_Nail_Fetishes_Chiloango_River_Area.html |