Kongo Nkondi or Power Figure of a Dog

A dog with a crocodile's grin and a back covered in iron, all of it pointing up.

This Nkondi, or power figure of a dog, is Kongo, from the Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the early 20th century. It is carved wood, pigment, iron and glass. Among the Kongo, the dog is generally regarded as a creature that moves between the living and the spirit world, and nail-studded dog figures are a well-known form of nkondi. The long snout opens wide, with white pigment along the jaw. Iron blades and nails crowd the back in a dense, overlapping ridge. It is 45 inches wide and 17 high.

Every blade has its place, and the dog has kept all of them.