Nkisi Nkondi (Power Figure)
Unidentified Kongo maker
Solongo style
19th century
Wood and mixed medium
Overall: 21 5/8 × 14 3/16 × 8 1/4 in. (55 × 36 × 21 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through the Mrs. Harvey P. Hood W'18 Fund, the William B. Jaffe and Evelyn A. Jaffe Hall Fund, the William B. Jaffe Memorial Fund, the William S. Rubin Fund, the Julia L. Whittier Fund and through gifts, by exchange
996.22.30233
Geography
Place Made: Democratic Republic of the Congo or Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central Africa, Africa
Period
19th century
Object Name
Figure
Research Area
Africa
Not on view
Course History
ANTH 17, The Anthropology of Health and Illness, Sienna Craig, Spring 2012
HIST 16, AAAS 12, Black America to the Civil War, Rashauna Chenault, Winter 2013
REL 7, Dark Goddesses and Black Madonnas, Elizabeth Perez, Winter 2013
WRIT 5, Expository Writing, Carl Thum, Winter 2013
AAAS 11, Introduction to African Studies, Naaborko Sackeyfio, Spring 2013
HIST 5.1, AAAS 14, Pre-Colonial African History, Naaborko Sackeyfio, Winter 2013
ANTH 17, The Anthropology of Health and Illness, Sienna Craig, Spring 2012
ANTH 17, The Anthropology of Health and Illness, Sienna Craig, Spring 2012
ARTH 16.2, Picasso: The Vollard Suite, Michael R.Taylor, Fall 2013
ANTH 17, The Anthropology of Health and Illness, Lauren Gulbas, Fall 2013
REL 17, AAAS 83.5, African Religions of the Americas, Elizabeth Perez, Fall 2013
REL 1, Patterns of Religious Experience, Elizabeth Perez, Fall 2013
REL 14, AAAS 18, Introduction to African Religions, Robert Baum, Spring 2014
SART 23, Figure Sculpture, Leslie Fry, Spring 2019
ANTH 55, Anthropology of Global Health, Anne Sosin, Spring 2021
ANTH 55.01, Anthropology of Global Health, Anne Sosin, Spring 2022
ANTH 55.01, Anthropology of Global Health, Anne Sosin, Spring 2022
Exhibition History
Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, April 19, 2002-February 16, 2003.
Art That Lives? Exploring Figural Art from Africa, Allvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 25, 2009-July 2010.
Correspondences: African Sculpture at the Hood Museum of Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 12, 1996-March 2, 1997.
Critical Faculties: Teaching with the Hood's Collections, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 15-March 13, 2005.
Evolving Perspectives: Highlights from the African Art Collection at the Hood Museum of Art, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 26, 2013-April 6, 2014.
Point of View: Africa on Display?, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 1, 2003-February 22, 2003.
Resonances of Power, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, September 12, 1998-February 28, 1999.
Works from the Continent of Africa, Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 26, 2019-March 15, 2020.
Publication History
Dartmouth LIFE, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 1997.
Kelly Sidley, The Dartmouth, Arts & Entertainment, Thursday, October 24, 1996, p. 11
Valley News, Arts & Entertainment, Art Notes, October 10, 1996.
Meisterwerke, 1968, figt. 81, illus.
Barbara Thompson, "The African Collection at the Hood Museum of Art," African Arts, Volume XXXVII, No. 2, Los Angeles: African Studies Center, University of California, 2004, ill. p. 25.
Alexander Bortolot, Art That Lives? Exploring Figural Art from Africa, Hood Mueum of Art, Hanover: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 2009, ill. cover page, end page, p. 6-7, no. 1.
Robert L. Welsch and Luis A. Vivanco, Cultural Anthropology: Asking Questions About Humanity, New York: Oxford University Press, 2015, 461 pp., ills. p. 392 and 419.
John R. Stomberg, The Hood Now: Art and Inquiry at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire: Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, 2019, p. 106, ill. plate no. 37.
Provenance
Probably from Zaire to the European market before or after World War II; Hans Coray, Agnuzzo, Switzerland, possibly 1930's-1974; Hans Coray's older son, 1974-?; Count Jean Jacques de Launoit, Brussels, after 1974-1981; Sotheby's London, June 23, 1981, cover and lot 189; Susan Borden of Bumper Development Corp., Canada, 1981-1996, Sotheby's New York, New York, November 24, 1992, cover and lot 118; Private Sale, Sotheby's to present collection, April 1996.
This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.
We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu