This image is one of over 108,000 from the AMICA Library (formerly The Art Museum Image Consortium Library- The AMICO Library™), a growing online collection of high-quality, digital art images from over 20 museums around the world. www.davidrumsey.com/amica offers subscriptions to this collection, the finest art image database available on the internet. EVERY image has full curatorial text and can be studied in depth by zooming into the smallest details from within the Image Workspace.
 
Preview the AMICA Library™ Public Collection in Luna Browser Now

  • Cultures and time periods represented range from contemporary art, to ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian works.
  • Types of works include paintings, drawings, watercolors, sculptures, costumes, jewelry, furniture, prints, photographs, textiles, decorative art, books and manuscripts.

Gain access to this incredible resource through either a monthly or a yearly subscription and search the entire collection from your desktop, compare multiple images side by side and zoom into the minute details of the images. Visit www.davidrumsey.com/amica for more information on the collection, click on the link below the revolving thumbnail to the right, or email us at amica@luna-img.com .



Creator Name: Kongo
Creator Nationality: African; Central African; Congolese
Creator Role: Artist
Creator Name-CRT: Kongo
Title: Nail Figure
View: front
Creation Start Date: 1900
Creation End Date: 1999
Creation Date: 20th century
Object Type: Sculpture
Classification Term: Fetish
Materials and Techniques: wood, natural fibers, nails
Dimensions: H.15-3/4 x W.9-3/4 x D.7-1/4 in.
AMICA Contributor: The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Owner Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
ID Number: 71.3
Credit Line: The Christina N. and Swan J. Turnblad Memorial Fund
Rights: http://www.artsmia.org/restrictions.html
Context:

In traditional Kongo villages a religious specialist, or diviner, is responsible for the spiritual and physical well-being of society. He relies on the assistance of a powerful spirit that resides in sculpted wood figures, or nkisi. Nkisi are brought out for healing, for taking oaths, and to seal agreements or make legal settlements. The spirit is activated by driving nails or blades into the figure. Each blade or nail represents an oath, an agreement, or an episode in village history.

Kongo people take pride in the fairness of their legal and social system. As the legal scholar and philosopher Fu-Kiau Kia Bunseki explains, judicial procedures take place in public. "The accused is seated within the circle. Any community member is allowed to ask questions. The main goal of this is to understand social problems and conflicts and to try to find a remedy to cure him as well as the entire community." The judgment is sealed before an nkisi, with the understanding that the spirit within that figure would punish any violation of the settlement.


AMICA ID: MIA_.71.3
Component Measured: overall
Measurement Unit: in
AMICA Library Year: 1999
Media Metadata Rights: ?The Minneapolis Institute of Arts

AMICA PUBLIC RIGHTS: a) Access to the materials is granted for personal and non-commercial use. b) A full educational license for non-commercial use is available from Cartography Associates at www.davidrumsey.com/amica/institution_subscribe.html c) Licensed users may continue their examination of additional materials provided by Cartography Associates, and d) commercial rights are available from the rights holder.

Home | Subscribe | Preview | Benefits | About | Help | Contact
Copyright © 2007 Cartography Associates.
All rights reserved.