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Lot 228
“Nkisi” talisman
Estimated Value:
1.200 € - 1.800 €
Result:
8.417 € incl. Premium and VAT
Description:
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zaire, Vili/YombeH. 44,5 cm (o.S.)
These remarkable magical figures are often referred to as ‘mirror fetishes’ or ‘nail fetishes’. The expressive wooden figure on offer, with its finely carved facial features, is fitted with a ‘magic box’ in the torso area, featuring a mirror clasp that has lost its reflection, secured with nails. The head is crowned with a headdress made of fabric, leather and feathers. The spear held in the raised arm is missing; on the back, in the area of the spine, there arewhich indicate that the original nail fittings were probably removed, possibly to strip the figure of its magical power, perhaps as a result of colonial or missionary intervention. The face has a dark patina; the eyes have lost their original inlays. The figure has been published (Africa - Tribal Art in the Jungle and Savannah, Bammert. 1980) with a reference to the piece’s display at the “Exposition coloniale” in Paris in 1937, with provenance from the Mission des Orphelins d’Auteuil, which collected it at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Orphelins d’Auteuil mission in the early 20th century
From a major private collection in southern Germany, acquired from 1975 onwards
