Kongo Female Fetish Figure

Shell-white eyes, a cord cap and a medicine pack set right in the belly.

This female fetish figure is Kongo, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th C. It is wood, cloth, kaolin and hemp. Among the Kongo, nkisi figures are generally understood as containers for empowering substances, often placed in a cavity on the abdomen and sealed in. The standing figure has a glossy dark red-brown surface, inset white eyes, bared teeth and a woven cap. A cord circles the neck, a resinous pack covers the belly, and a red cloth wraps the hips. The feet rest on a squared base. It is 3 inches wide, 3 deep and 8.5 high.

Small, steady and very much at attention.