| If you came to this page looking for a subject other than Songye figures, below is the "You be the judge ARCHIVES" |
| You Be the Judge Songye power figures Nkisi and mankishi First a little information... |
| Personal Power Figure (Nkishi) A Songye diviner (nganga), in addition to designing and empowering a community nkishi/nksis (plural, mankishi) for the protection and well-being of all the members of a village, may prescribe a smaller nkishi for the private use of an individual, customized to his or her personal needs. Individuals direct prayers to ancestral spirits through personal mankishi for many different reasons. While some seek protection for themselves and their families, others may appeal for success in pursuits that affect their livelihood, such as hunting. The most common need they address, however, is an individual woman's desire to have children and to prevent miscarriages. Thus, a woman may commission an nkishi that is designed specifically to enhance her potential to conceive. Personal mankishi may also be incorporated into efforts to heal other ailments. Once an nganga effectively treats a patient with herbal medications, he may prescribe the commissioning of such a work as a form of protective reinforcement. Consequently, the rituals that are essential for the creation and use of personal mankishi relate to the specific needs they fulfill in the lives of their owners. These privately commissioned works are usually not publicly accessible but are kept in their owners' homes. In order to motivate the ancestors to provide assistance in a personal crisis, suppliants offer prayers and sacrifices to them. To mark the occasion of mukapasu, the first day of the first quarter of a lunar cycle, all the villagers take their personal mankishi and place them around the community nkishi, and these become the focus of ritual proceedings led by the nganga. This celebration of the reappearance of the moon is associated with prosperity and regeneration. The scale and aesthetic form of the nkishi shown here reflect its role as a personal devotional object. Whereas all community mankishi display a classical Songye ideal of male leadership, smaller customized works of this kind show a far greater range of idiosyncratic designs. Within this more eclectic genre of representations, though, the level of aesthetic accomplishment demonstrated by the various artists' handling of sculptural form is less consistent than for community mankishi, which are usually commissioned from artists with regional reputations. The surface of this male figure is almost entirely engulfed in metal tacks, a systematic obscuring of the figure's head and body that gives it a wild, unruly appearance. However, their absence in areas such as the eyes and mouth makes those features look like especially deep recesses. Where "medicines" (bishimba) were once inserted, an empty cavity is evident in the area of the stomach. Alan Merriam has recorded that the explicit carving of male or female genitalia evident in such representations suggests the desired gender of a couple's first child. He notes that the turret-headed copper nails, elengyela (plural, malengyela), that cover the figure may record consultations with the nkishi while at the same time aesthetically enhancing the figure. Once the principal reason for their creation is fulfilled, such works no longer have relevance. While some personal mankishi are passed on from one generation to the next, they are generally discarded after they perform the role for which they were conceived. Source: http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/oracle/figures43.html |
| Personal Power Figure (Nkishi) Songye, Democratic Republic of the Congo Wood, metal; H. 21.8 cm (8 5/8 in.) Late 19th–early 20th century Private collection http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/oracle/figure43L.html |
| Community Power Figure (Nkishi) Songye community's most influential leaders, including lineage chiefs and other distinguished elders, come together to commission a sculptural work—a power figure—that will collectively benefit its members. The role that such works, mankishi (singular, nkishi), subsequently play is so central to collective experience that they become the principal marker against which life unfolds. Mankishi enhance the overall quality of life by assuring that universally shared concerns, such as procreation, protection against illness, witchcraft, and war, are addressed through divine intervention. Along with allocating the necessary resources for an nkishi's acquisition and selecting the ritual specialist (nganga) who will design and empower it, the elders appoint a guardian who will act as its interpreter. The nkishi imparts information relevant to the community's welfare to that individual in the form of prophetic dreams. In times of extreme crisis, such as an epidemic, the nkishi might be carried outside the village into the bush, where it would indicate specific plant ingredients to be prepared and administered as a remedy. The sculptural form of a community nkishi may be designed by a regionally renowned carver, but its essential qualities are determined by an nganga. Such works are objects of symbolic interaction between the nganga and the ancestral realm. In Songye cosmology, spirits of the dead are perceived to beneficially or adversely affect harvests, health, and women's fertility. The nganga is endowed with the mystical knowledge necessary to make "medicines" (bishimba) that invoke the spirit world by sparking a catalytic reaction. These "medicines" are associated with awesome power and strength, and thus draw upon matter such as the bones, flesh, fur, or claws of physically powerful and aggressive animals selected for their metaphoric associations with force. Bits of hair and nails taken from members of the community are included as a means of particularizing a work's relationship to its constituency— that is, the entire community. The unique combination of ingredients contained in a bishimba's sacred formula ultimately determines a work's potential to spiritually fortify its patrons. Effective mankishi become the site for ancestral spirits to communicate their insight and project their influence. During the creation of its nkishi, members of a community are engaged in the process and attentively follow it as it unfolds. As the primary author, the nganga oversees its execution and directs their participation. The ancestors are invoked over the course of a procession from the village to the site of the tree from which the sculpture will be carved. Dances and songs of tribute pay homage to the ancestors while the tree is cut down. Once the carving is completed, the most important phase of execution occurs at night as the nganga visually and metaphysically transforms the figure by inserting its crucial bishimba within cavities in the head and abdomen and attaching external paraphernalia. To attract the ancestors' attention to the work, all fires are extinguished except for one near the figure, and sacrificial offerings are made. Ultimately, the composition of an nkishi not only incorporates intimate particulate matter belonging to its patrons but has the outward appearance of an idealized portrait of a leader. The physiognomy and regalia of a community nkishi emphasize the influential character of its subject, conveying a degree of physical strength and social rank commensurate with the spiritual power it commands. External features include additions of chiefly regalia, such as the strands of white and blue beads wrapped around the neck and the animal hide and raffia skirt below the waist. Pelts of various kinds of animals that project strength, dominance, and authority may be selected, and their names (or those of chiefs) are appropriate choices for the titles assigned to such works. Though relatively small, this especially refined sculpture seems to project a monumental stature, accentuated by the pedestal-like base that is an integral part of its design. The broad, rounded forehead suggests omniscience. The head narrows toward the base of the chin, which extends into a long rectangular beard, an attribute of leadership. Large, almond-shaped eyes, made more prominent by raised, arched eyebrows, suggest a contemplative and inward-looking expression. The finely articulated facial features are accentuated with copper bands, punctuated by metal tacks, extending vertically from the forehead to the tip of the nose and diagonally across each cheek. This metal appliqué refers to forces such as lightning, which the nkishi can counteract and redirect to benefit its constituents. Diminutive hands rest on either side of the pronounced abdomen, a sign of fertility and the cyclical nature of life, which relates a community's ancestors to its unborn members. The efficacy of an individual nkishi is regarded as finite, and therefore it must eventually be replaced. When this happens, however, it continues to be remembered for specific feats attributed to it and becomes a quintessential point of reference for entire chapters of a community's history Source: http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/oracle/figures10.html |
| Community Power Figure (Nkishi) Songye, Democratic Republic of the Congo Wood, metal, palm oil, organic material; H. 41 cm (16 1/8 in.) 19th–early 20th century James Ross Collection http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/oracle/figure10L.html |
| Various Sotheby's pieces below I tried to pick pieces that showed the stylistic variations of these types of pieces. |
| Property from a European Collector A FINE SONGE MALE POWER FIGURE LOCATION ESTIMATE AUCTION DATE New York 15,000—20,000 USD Session 1 15 May 03 10:15 AM Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 51,000 USD height 22 7/8in. 58.1cm standing on a circular base, with splayed hands held to the abdomen, beneath a cubistic body and large angular head with bow-shaped mouth and square chin, a hole with magical elements inset at the crown; fine old patina of use with heavy traces of thick oily patina on the face. Provenance: Acquired from Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels |
| PROPERTY FROM A NEW YORK PRIVATE COLLECTOR A FINE SONGE POWER FIGURE LOCATION ESTIMATE AUCTION DATE New York 15,000—20,000 USD Session 1 14 Nov 03 10:15 AM Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 16,800 USD measurements note height 23 3/4 in. 60.3cm DETAILED DESCRIPTION rising from a domed base, the flat feet supporting the flaring torso with pendant breasts, the bent arms with fan- like hands to the sides beneath the elongated neck, the head with jutting chin, parted lips and heavy-lidded eyes inset with cowrie shells and strips of copper at the cheeks and forehead, wearing a close-cropped coiffure inset at the crown with a horn; dark brown surface with areas of camwood powder at the eyes. PROVENANCE Alain Schoffel, Paris |
| Property of a Gentleman A SONGE POWER FIGURE LOCATION ESTIMATE AUCTION DATE New York 8,000—12,000 USD Session 1 15 May 03 10:15 AM Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 5,400 USD height 10in. (25.4cm.) nkisi, standing on a circular base, the cubistic body with a single brass tack at the navel, tapering to the neck encircled by glass beads, the large head turned to the side and intersected by brass tacks at the cheeks and forehead, with coffee-bean eyes and wearing a striated backswept coiffure with a horn inset at the crown; varied aged dark brown and resinous patina. Cf. Schildkrout (1989: 124, figure 85) for a related figure with turned head. |
| PROPERTY FROM A EUROPEAN COLLECTION A FINE SONGE POWER FIGURE LOCATION ESTIMATE AUCTION DATE New York 30,000—50,000 USD Session 1 14 Nov 03 10:15 AM Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 30,000 USD measurements note height 24 1/2in. 62.2cm DETAILED DESCRIPTION rising from a fragmentary circular base, the stylized figure standing on muscular legs beneath the rectangular torso punctuated by the raised navel and framed by truncated bent muscular arms with large hands held to the waist, the gracefully hollowed chest supporting pendant breasts beneath shelf-like shoulders and a strong columnar neck encircled by a necklace of twisted metal, the expressively carved prognathous face with animated smiling mouth beneath a broad nose and large coffee bean eyes framed by raised expressive brows, and wearing a domed coiffure with a receptacle holding a curved horn; exceptionally fine varied medium brown patina. PROVENANCE Mme Laure Kegel-Konietzko, Hamburg Pierre Daretevelle, Brussels Ratton-Hourdé, Paris CATALOGUE NOTE For related Songe power figures of this very particular style--large, heavy-lidded demilune eyes, broad sagittate nose and prognathous jaw with exaggerated smile--see Kerchache et al (1993: 453, figures 729-731) for the well- known figure from the Mestach Collection; Sotheby's New York, November 18, 2000, lot 133 for another formerly in the Egon Guenther Collection; and MMA 'AF-14 Songe A-87' for a related figure in the Dallas Museum of Fine Art. |
| PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE HIMMELHEBER FAMILY AN IMPORTANT SONGE, KALEBWE, MALE COMMUNITY POWER FIGURE LOCATION ESTIMATE AUCTION DATE New York 170,000—270,000 USD Session 1 14 May 04 10:15 AM Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 489,600 USD measurements note height 31 1/2 in. 80cm nkishi, standing on a thick circular base, the waist encircled by a layered skirt, the broad, rounded hands resting on the protruding abdomen, the navel, wrists, and knees punctuated by squares carved in low relief and encrusted from insertion of materials, beneath the tapered waist encircled by one band of monitor skin and another of fiber, leading to the angular, protruding chest and framed by the bent, muscular arms, the right arm with power materials suspended at the elbow, the shelf-like shoulders framing an elongated, ridged neck encircled by woven fiber and supporting the large, architectural head with a dramatic prognathus, angular jaw and an open, looped mouth interjected by the hollowed, almond-shaped eyes bisected by the sagittate nose, with sheets of copper affixed at the nose and temples, framed by disc-shaped ears pierced at the center and wearing a leather cap with pendant flange at the reverse; exceptionally fine, varied and encrusted deep to reddish brown patina. PROVENANCE Collected by Hans Himmelheber in 1939 LITERATURE AND REFERENCES Himmelheber 1960: 401, figure 325 CATALOGUE NOTE The art historian and anthropologist Hans Himmelheber (1908 - 2003) traveled in the then Belgian Congo from May 7, 1938 to July 14, 1939 after visiting Cameroon and Gabon. His primary concern was an exploration of the role of traditional African sculptors in their ethnic societies. While in the Congo, Himmelheber kept copious notes to accompany his field photographs, the works he collected and the interviews he performed. Unfortunately, these records were destroyed during World War II. Fortunately, he published some of his research in the 1930's in the Belgian journal Brousse. See Himmelheber (1993) for the catalogue produced by the Rietberg Museum with 200 of his incredible photographic records (including two from the Songe people) from this research and collecting trip. In the Congo, Himmelheber collected wood sculpture and ethnographic objects to finance himself so he did not have to rely on government support. Most of his Congo collection was sent to Switzerland in 1939. It survived the war in storage at the Ethnographic Museum of Basel, which had subsidized Himmelheber’s field work in Africa since 1933. Soon after the war, he gave a sizable portion of his collection to Basel, but transferred the works reserved for his personal collection, including this Kalebwe figure, from Basel to Heidelberg where he settled in 1947. Other parts of Himmelheber’s Congo collection were sent directly from Leopoldville to Dr. Lore Kegel-Konietzko in Hamburg, to his brother Bernhard Himmelheber in Karlsruhe, to Charles Ratton in Paris and to the Weyhe Gallery in New York. The works in his parental home in Karlsruhe were destroyed in 1943 during the war. Only his photo- negatives survived because they were safeguarded in his family’s country house. Therefore, the Congo sculptures that were sent via Basel were the only ones that remained in his possession. These works were understandably incredibly precious to him and he rarely sold works. Several works from his personal collection were published in his well-known book Negerkunst und Negerkünstler (1960). Most of the sculptures published in this book are now on long-term loan to the Rietberg Museum in Zurich where several are on permanent display. This monumental power figure, however, remained at Himmelheber’s home in Heidelberg and was never shown or exhibited elsewhere. The figure stood in his library and office, and he considered it one of the greatest chef-d’oeuvres of his collection. Reproduced in Negerkunst und Negerkünstler (1960: figure 325), he referred to it as the "Great idol of the Bekalebwe". According to Himmelheber, he acquired this monumental wooden sculpture from the (Be-)Kalebwe owner, a sub- group of the Songe. Himmelheber (1960: 406) stated that "the nganga buka, great sorcerers, of which there were only a few among the Songe [when he visited them in 1939], have such figures carved by professional sculptors called sende [or nsendwe, or smith]. The nganga then charges them with power to protect the local community, especially to safeguard the birth of children in their territory. All children possibly conceived by invoking the power figure or born while a particular power-figure reigns, receive its name. In 1939, a great number of (Be-)Kalebwe- children were called 'Kima’ after the power figure yankima, or ‘the Father of Kima’. 'Once in the world, such a power figure will multiply ... to such an extent that I found throughout the entire (Kalebwe-)region small yankima statues. But this continues only as long as this yankima’s power is intact. After a while he will be replaced by another power figure (with another name and another personality)... . In their appearance, however, all of these Songe power figures have a relative uniformity." Often, Songe people would sell power figures which had become ineffectual. Himmelheber states that he "was often told: 'Well, this power figure has brought us many children during his time'. Once I was warned when I bought a particular large power figure that one could not be at all sure that its strength was entirely extinct. And what happened: when I wanted to leave the place, he let my car slide in a ditch. Today, this power figure is kept safely in the Ethnographic Museum of Basel." |
| Property from an English Private Collection A FINE SONGE POWER FIGURE LOCATION ESTIMATE AUCTION DATE New York 30,000—50,000 USD Session 1 15 May 03 10:15 AM Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 90,000 USD height 29 1/4in. 74.3cm standing on a thick circular base, with thick legs supporting the protruding, pointed torso with a magic bundle inserted at the navel, the bent arms and angular shoulders beneath the elongated neck encircled by rows of blue glass beads, the large stylized head inset with rows of brass tacks, and the rectangular mouth baring teeth, the blunt nose framed by rimmed, downturned eyes inset with cowrie shells, an arching horn inset at the crown; fine and varied medium brown patina with areas of aged red and black pigment adorning the face. Provenance: Christie's London, December 1, 1982, lot 196 |
| STATUE, SONGYE, RÉPUBLIQUE DÉMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO [A SONGE POWER FIGURE, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO ] LOCATION ESTIMATE AUCTION DATE Paris 30,000—50,000 EUR Session 1 15 Jun 04 2:30 PM Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 45,600 EUR haut. 81 cm Cette statue nkisi exprime, à travers ses formes et par ses attributs, toute la puissance de sa fonction. Elle est représentée dans une attitude conventionnelle : debout sur une lourde base cylindrique, hiératique, le corps droit, jambes et bras en tension, fléchis, les mains posées de part et d'autre de l'abdomen saillant, les membres forts alliés à une allure générale élancée, le visage à l'expression outrée. Les volumes sont fortement géométrisés - à la fois massifs et anguleux, et le style vigoureux. Sa parure, qui rappelle celle des dignitaires Songye, renforce son impact visuel : colliers de perles de verre blanches et bleues, ceintures en cuir et en peau de reptile entourant le torse. Enfin, la corne plantée au sommet de la tête, pointe tournée vers l'avant, de même que la petite calebasse nouée autour du pied droit évoquent la charge magique qu'elles contiennent, non visible mais seule garante de la valeur de cette statue aux yeux des Songye. Très bel aspect de surface avec une différence de tonalité dans la patine entre la couleur miel du corps et de la base et celle, brune et croûteuse, de la tête et du cou. Parfait état de conservation. Style des Songye occidentaux. PROVENANCE Venant d'une collection européenne, cette statue aurait, selon son actuel propriétaire, été rapportée en France vers 1900. |
| From Christie's Sale 1278, Lot 95 A Superb Songye Power Figure Nkishi Estimate: $80,000-120,000 |
| Songye ivory |
| Property from a European Private Collection Sotheby's 2004 - Lot 75 A FINE AND RARE SONGE IVORY MALE AND FEMALE PAIR each of similar form, standing on a tapering circular base and flat feet beneath angular, muscular legs, the arms bent alongside the torso with the finely incised hands resting on the prominent abdomen, pointed breasts and shelf-like shoulders, the broad neck surmounted by the heads with pyramidal faces, incised eyes, sagittate nose and broad mouths with tight lips, the female with incised notches at the forehead; fine glossy cream to beige ivory patina. heights 7 5/8in. (male) and 8in. (female) 19.5cm and 20cm PROVENANCE Carel van Lier, Amsterdam, number 814, before 1927 Loed van Bussel, Amsterdam EXHIBITED Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Tentoonstelling van oude negerplastik: collectie van Kunstzaal Van Lier, January 8 -31,1927 PUBLISHED Corbey 2000: 42-43 Van Lier 2003: 14 and cover See the following lot for more information on Carel van Lier and his gallery. The photograph of Van Lier shown below was believed to have been taken in 1927 during the exhibition of African works of art from his gallery at the modern art museum in Amsterdam. The two Songe ivory figures are shown on the shelf behind him, the female to his left and the male to the right. In the foreground is the Goma figure also offered (lot 76) reunited here with this Songe ivory pair seventy-seven years later. Fine ivory carvings are certainly well-known throughout Central Africa, and in particular among Songe-related groups such as the Luba. However, ivory carvings are rare among the Songe, and are ususally seen in the form of prestige objects. A Songe ivory in the collection of theTervuren Museum for example (MRAC 1995: 348-349, no. 150), while carved in the form of a horn, was most likely never used, rather it served as an object of regalia. See also Sotheby's, London (July 13, 1971, lot 203) for another Songe ivory object, possibly a finial or a mortar depicting two adorsed figures. Also rare in Songe patrilineal culture are depictions of male and female pairs (Felix 1987: 164). The creation of a male and female pair in ivory suggests, therefore, that this Songe pair was almost certainly a prestige object carved in a Lubaized region of Songe territory. Estimate - $50,000-70,000 |
| Various gallery pieces from the Internet These objects in this section were made for the collecting market and not for traditional use. Not particularly good examples, but here for comparison. |
| Songye Wooden Nkisi Power Statue - PF.4705 Origin: Southeastern Congo Date: 19 th Century AD to 20 th Century AD Dimensions: 56.25" (142.9cm) high x 9.5" (24.1cm) wide Collection: African Style: Songye Medium: Wood and Mixed Media Location: Great Britain |
| SONGYE, POWER FIGURE , 53" |
| Various Museum pieces from the Internet |
| Power Figure, Nkishi Zaïre, Songye. Late 19th - early 20th centuries A.D. Wood, brass, bone, incrustation. 9 x 2 1/4 x 2 3/4 in. (22.9 x 5.7 x 7 cm). 1994.4.20 Michael C Carlos Museum Emory University |
| Songye peoples Democratic Republic of the Congo Late 19th-early 20th century Wood, horn, seed pod, glass beads, iron, hide H x W x D: 52 x 11.5 x 12.7 cm (20 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 5 in.) Gift of Robert and Nancy Nooter National Museum of African Art |
| Songye peoples Democratic Republic of the Congo Late 19th-early 20th century Wood, brass, iron, horn, cowrie shell, gourd, leopard's teeth, glass beads, reptile skin, plant fiber H x W x D: 66 x 21 x 24.1 cm (26 x 8 1/4 x 9 1/2 in.) Museum purchase and gift of Professor David Driskell, Friends of the National Museum of African Art, Robert and Nancy Nooter, Milton F. and Frieda Rosenthal, Honorable and Mrs. Michael Samuels, Mr. Michael Sonnenreich National Museum of African Art |
| African Art from the Bayly Museum |
| Figura Nkisi etnia Songye, Rep. Dem. del Congo Legno, corno e metallo, h. cm. 102 British Museum, Londra Foto tratta dal volume "Africa, The Art of a Continent" di T. Phillips ed. Prestel |
| Plattsburg State Art Museum |
| Museumofafrica.org |
| Images added August 2nd, 2004 |
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| Click on image to see larger version The one below is my favorite |
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| Scan of an invitation to the exhibit "Songye Power Figures" from 1996 at the Allan Stone Tribal Art Museum in New York City (submitted by African Antiques member James Tyler) |
| Rand African Art home page Return to the Educational Resources page |