Wood Nail Fetish

White chin, white-rimmed eyes, and the expression of someone mid-sentence.

This nail fetish is wood and glass. Nail-studded figures are most closely associated with the Kongo peoples of Central Africa, where each added piece of iron is generally understood to mark a vow or request. The polished head has a ridged crest, inset eyes and a whitened lower face around an open mouth. A tangle of cord, nails and red fiber covers the chest, and a round container is held at the belly. The legs are long and straight, ending in large carved feet. It is 12.5 inches wide and 48 high.

Somebody once had a very good reason to bind all that cord.