GothamGallery Fine African Art - DRC Kongo Yombe Tribal Fetish

Offering the Finest Quality Sub-Saharan African Art

Striking African DRC Kongo Yombe Magical Power Fetish

Inches:                   Height: 9 Inches
Centimeters:          Height: 23 Centimeters
                              Measurements Figure Only
Material:                Wood, Pigmented Inlay Glass Eyes, Resin, Shell
Estimated Age:       Mid 20th Century
Condition:             Good
Remarks:               Stylized figure fierce features power fetish honey brown patina
Shipping:               US East Coast - Estimated $10.00
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Documentation of Authenticity / Any Available Provenance Will Be Included With This Piece.

CONDITION
Minor wood deterioration, crapes and chips, worn areas, overall condition good. Thank you and please view my other items.

BACKGROUND
The Kongo peope are present in three countries – the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and the Congo Republic – the Kongo occupy the region at the mouth of the Congo River. Numerous subgroups go to form the vast Kongo cultural complex, among which are the Vili, the Woyo and the Yombe. These tribes produce a diversity of artistic styles, with Kongo art being one of the best known. The Kongo demonstrate the extreme complexity of their traditions on major occasions, such as the investiture of a chief or at funerals. The Kongo pantheon was small: one all-powerful god who gave healing powers to the king, to the Nganga, and to the heads of cults. Besides their textiles of great renown, the Kongo had a funerary art of decorated steles and funerary statues in stone, very often depicting the chief seated cross-legged in a posture of reflection. Some of these statues were placed on tombs to aid the spirits of the dead to join the world of the deceased. They produced wood sculptures representing royal wives, hunters, musicians, and healers. Their postures vary: sometimes they kneel in a position of respect, the head bent slightly backwards; women might be depicted seated with the child they hold by the neck or whom they are nursing. The cheeks are round and the face carefully rendered, is usually realistic. The patina is smooth, the bust scarified. Elaborate geometrical patterns occur on the pedestal or the body, where they may be mingled with fine scarification marks. The figures were used to ward off danger to mothers during delivery and to protect the health of the child. The commemorative statues known as Phemba were designed for women who had lost a child and wanted another. These carvings, generally sophisticated and very graceful, were thought to favor such a happy event. A maternity statue’s effectiveness depended on the dignity of the figure and its youth (shown by the firmness of the breasts) and the jewelry, which augmented its beauty and status. Nail and mirror fetishes are a unique and important phenomenon of Kongo sculpture. In the Kongo, all these fetishes are called Nkisi. Nkisi means “medicine”. Historically, there were two types of Nkisi, public and private, with some having vital democratizing roles, as sources of empowerment for rural residents and individuals outside the court. At most basic, the Nkisi represents a container of empowering materials or “medicines” called Bilongo. The magical substances may be blood along with animal, vegetable, and mineral matter. They are believed to invest the fetish figure with power and make it possible for the devotee to establish contact with the spirit. The “medicines” are generally secured in cavities in the stomach, head, or back to activate the work with the empowering agent. The Nkisi, properly endowed with magic substances and additions by the Nganga or doctor, had the power to act in a number of ways. There are four main types of Nkisi, used for different purposes. Nkondi are fetishes of ill omen, usually brandishing a spear or a knife, while Npezo are just as evil, but less menacing in attitude. Na Moganga are benevolent figures, which protect against sickness and dangerous spirits. They help the hunter and the warrior; while Mbula protect against witchcraft. All Nkisi can be used for a variety of purposes and their meaning is ambivalent. The fetishes also may represent animals: two-headed dog, sometimes monkey. Masks are rare. There were worn during initiation ceremonies and the funerals of important personalities, but also appeared to be embodied with a judiciary powers.

Painter Fred Uhlman words - Most of the artists I admired, Picasso, Modigliani, Deraini, to mention only a few, had collected African art and had been profoundly influenced by it. Shortly afterwards I bought the Baule Fetish and the Baule bobbin which are still two of the finest pieces in my collection. It is easy to see why I bought them and why from that moment I have never stopped collecting. The head of the bobbin or heddle - pulley which is after all only a functional object for the purpose of weaving seemed to me then and today as beautiful as a Greek goddess. The fetish moved me as deeply as the bobbin by its silent tragic dignity and its air of profound meditation.

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