Kongo (Bakongo, Bashikongo, Kakongo),  Angola and Democratic Republic of the Congo

Fetish.  The Kongo numbering about three million occupy the region at the mouth of the Congo River and are present in three countries – the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and the Congo Republic. Numerous subgroups form the vast Kongo cultural complex, among which the Vili, the Woyo and the Yombe are the best known. These tribes produce a diversity of artistic styles. Nail and mirror or glace 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. This glace fetish was produced by one of the tribes of the Kongo cultural complex.

Material:  wood, glace, leather, vegetable fiber

Size:  23”x6”x4½”

Price:  $245+$26 (S&H)                                                          [#N4K7S348]