Nkisi reliquary sculpture, Becongo group

"Nkisi", a wooden reliquary sculpture used as a receptacle of magical or religious forces, manipulated through sculpture by Nganga, or priest, among the Bacongo group (Cabinda, Angola).

The sculpture depicts a kneeling human figure, provided with three reliquary cavities one on the abdomen, the other on the back and on the top of the head, each with a mirror encased in inlaid white beads.

Each half of the body is covered by a paste of ritual clay, white to the right, and red to the left. On the chest, a metal peg has been inserted on the site of the heart.