Standing female figure
Life Story
The head of this figure is well finished, with a decorative hairstyle on the back, hatched eyebrows and carefully carved ears with brass wire earrings. Yet the front of the body and the hands are blocked out without any detailed finish, making it appear that this is an unfinished nkisi which would have had ‘medicine’ applied to an abdominal cavity or straight on to the body. The mitre-like cap, glass-inlaid eyes and filed teeth are typically Yombe.
Margret Carey, 1997
Entry taken from Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection, Vol. 2: Pacific, African and Native North American Art, edited by Steven Hooper (Yale University Press, 1997) p. 182.
Provenance
Formerly belonging to Captain K. A. Webster.
Purchased by Robert and Lisa Sainsbury from K. J. Hewett in 1964.
Donated to the Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia in 1973 as part of the original gift.
Not on display
Title/Description: Standing female figure
Born: 1900 - 1999
Object Type: Figure
Measurements: h. 298 x w. 86 x d. 75 mm
Accession Number: 254
Historic Period: 20th century
Production Place: Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Cultural Group: Yombe
Credit Line: Donated by Robert and Lisa Sainsbury, 1973
