Kongo Nkondi or Power Figure

A padlock at the belly, small figures at the chest, and iron everywhere else.

This nkondi or power figure is Kongo, from the Republic of Congo, Central Africa, early 20th century, in carved wood, pigment, iron and glass. A nkondi was a figure activated by a ritual specialist to enforce oaths and pursue wrongdoing, and the metal driven into it recorded those appeals. Iron nails bristle from the shoulders and torso among strips of hide. Rope and netting bind the waist. The head stays smooth and reddish brown, with wide eyes and parted lips. The legs are thick and plain, on large feet. Twenty-eight inches high.

Some agreements are meant to be seen.