Advanced Search

K-12 Educator
K-12 Student
Museum Visitor
UMMA Docent
UMMA Staff
University Faculty
University Student
Between and Mortarboard

UMMA Object Specific Fields




Query builder

How to Use the Query Builder

Part of: (true) Heart Silent in Respect to Truer Vibrations (20 resources )

(true) Heart Silent in Respect to Truer Vibrations

Copyright
All Rights Reserved
Created by
Kevin Moultrie Daye
Last Updated
September 24, 2022 1:04 p.m.

20 Items in this Learning Collection
mask

Collection Object
Mask

Collection Object
Spirit Mask

Collection Object
Mask (idangani)
Mask is made entirely of blackish-brown dyed and molded raffia fiber; face has bulging forehead, deeo set narrow eyes, bulbous nose, and raffia “beard.” Top of head has cone-like crest of small fiber knots.<br />
Collection Object
Mask
This bold and dramatic wooden Pende <em>mbangu</em> mask features a half-white, half-black face with a contorted visage.  The face has been carved in such a way that the features appearing on the left side, which has been pigmented black, are either positioned lower (the left ear and eye) or droop downwards (left sides of the nose and mouth). Moreover, the black portion of the face features several indentations representing scars. The resulting visual effect is one of facial asymmetry. A thick layer of white and black pigment has been applied to the face’s wooden surface, while black raffia fibers have been tightly woven onto a vegetable fiber cloth on the black half of the mask, completing the look.
Collection Object
Mask

Collection Object
Bwami Society Maskette
Concave, ovoid maskette with kaolin covering surface of surface of face. Minimal rendering of facial features: raised, tapered wood strip for nose; narrow, oviod, horizontal eyes; open, ovoid mouth with some striation around interior edge.
Collection Object
Mask

Collection Object
Mask
With fringe beard, carved teeth and scarifications.
Collection Object
N'tomo Society Initiation Mask

Collection Object
Commemorative Head
Ceramic head on a hollow cylinder with a fluted base. The figure&#39;s eyes and mouth are thin, while the nose is angular. The top of the head is covered in small protruding points.&nbsp;
Collection Object
Mask
Large, ovoid mask with a dark patina. The forehead of the face is raised, sloping down to a short, broad nose. The eyes are formed by two cresent shapes separated by a rectangle. On each cheek are three raised marks in a vertical line. The mouth is closed and may be moveable. 
Collection Object
Guli Society Mask

Collection Object
Face Mask
An oval wooden face made of dark shiny wood with a textile braid of hair all around, wrapped tight to the head. The eyes are slightly shut and the mouth is open.
Collection Object
Antelope Mask

Collection Object
Ngontang Helmet Mask with Four Faces
An enclosed wooden mask with four white faces on top of a darker wood. Two faces are larger and two are smaller, all with decorative marks on them. There are holes drilled along the bottom and through the ridges on the top.
Collection Object
Marka Mask Adorned with Brass Sheet Metal

Collection Object
Pwo mask
Oval-shaped face mask&nbsp;with slit eye-openings, a mouth with articulated teeth, and scarification on the forehead.&nbsp;
Collection Object
Mask
Wooden mask with an oblong-shaped face, semi-circular beard, and a semi-circular headdress or coiffure. The beard consists of a curving band around the chin with incised, vertical grooves. The mouth is open to reveal teeth and the cheeks are flat. One half of the nose is broken off. Round eyes sit below a prominent forehead. The ears of the mask are small and square. Atop the head sits a semi-circular headdress or coiffure consisting of small, rectangular knobs. 
Collection Object
Power figure (nkisi)
Carved wooden human figure attached to an animal's horn. A plug or mushroom shaped projection extends from the human figure's head.
Collection Object
20 Items in this Learning Collection
mask

Collection Object
Mask

Collection Object
Spirit Mask

Collection Object
Mask (idangani)
Mask is made entirely of blackish-brown dyed and molded raffia fiber; face has bulging forehead, deeo set narrow eyes, bulbous nose, and raffia “beard.” Top of head has cone-like crest of small fiber knots.<br />
Collection Object
Mask
This bold and dramatic wooden Pende <em>mbangu</em> mask features a half-white, half-black face with a contorted visage.  The face has been carved in such a way that the features appearing on the left side, which has been pigmented black, are either positioned lower (the left ear and eye) or droop downwards (left sides of the nose and mouth). Moreover, the black portion of the face features several indentations representing scars. The resulting visual effect is one of facial asymmetry. A thick layer of white and black pigment has been applied to the face’s wooden surface, while black raffia fibers have been tightly woven onto a vegetable fiber cloth on the black half of the mask, completing the look.
Collection Object
Mask

Collection Object
Bwami Society Maskette
Concave, ovoid maskette with kaolin covering surface of surface of face. Minimal rendering of facial features: raised, tapered wood strip for nose; narrow, oviod, horizontal eyes; open, ovoid mouth with some striation around interior edge.
Collection Object
Mask

Collection Object
Mask
With fringe beard, carved teeth and scarifications.
Collection Object
N'tomo Society Initiation Mask

Collection Object
Commemorative Head
Ceramic head on a hollow cylinder with a fluted base. The figure&#39;s eyes and mouth are thin, while the nose is angular. The top of the head is covered in small protruding points.&nbsp;
Collection Object
Mask
Large, ovoid mask with a dark patina. The forehead of the face is raised, sloping down to a short, broad nose. The eyes are formed by two cresent shapes separated by a rectangle. On each cheek are three raised marks in a vertical line. The mouth is closed and may be moveable. 
Collection Object
Guli Society Mask

Collection Object
Face Mask
An oval wooden face made of dark shiny wood with a textile braid of hair all around, wrapped tight to the head. The eyes are slightly shut and the mouth is open.
Collection Object
Antelope Mask

Collection Object
Ngontang Helmet Mask with Four Faces
An enclosed wooden mask with four white faces on top of a darker wood. Two faces are larger and two are smaller, all with decorative marks on them. There are holes drilled along the bottom and through the ridges on the top.
Collection Object
Marka Mask Adorned with Brass Sheet Metal

Collection Object
Pwo mask
Oval-shaped face mask&nbsp;with slit eye-openings, a mouth with articulated teeth, and scarification on the forehead.&nbsp;
Collection Object
Mask
Wooden mask with an oblong-shaped face, semi-circular beard, and a semi-circular headdress or coiffure. The beard consists of a curving band around the chin with incised, vertical grooves. The mouth is open to reveal teeth and the cheeks are flat. One half of the nose is broken off. Round eyes sit below a prominent forehead. The ears of the mask are small and square. Atop the head sits a semi-circular headdress or coiffure consisting of small, rectangular knobs. 
Collection Object
Power figure (nkisi)
Carved wooden human figure attached to an animal's horn. A plug or mushroom shaped projection extends from the human figure's head.
Collection Object

Copyright
All Rights Reserved ()

Power figure (nkisi)

Accession Number
1997/1.346

Title
Power figure (nkisi)

Artist(s)
Yaka

Artist Nationality
Yaka (Kwango-Kwilu region style)

Object Creation Date
20th century

Medium & Support
wood with traces of pigment, animal horn and string

Dimensions
20 7/8 in x 3 7/16 in x 4 15/16 in (53 cm x 8.7 cm x 12.5 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Dr. James and Vivian Curtis

Label copy
(African Art and the Shape of Time; August 18, 2012-February 3, 2013)
14. Power figure (nkisi)
Yaka peoples, probably late 19th–early 20th century, wood, pigment, animal horn, string, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Gift of Dr. James and Vivian Curtis, 1997/1.346
This striking assemblage is an nkisi, a container for spiritual forces made potent by an nganga (religious expert), allowing it to act on behalf of people in the material world. Its main component is a bushbuck horn, which may be understood metaphorically as a spiral through time, its twists and curves alluding to an nkisi’s ability to rupture the symmetry between this world and the spirit world to let powerful forces manipulate the normal order of space and time.

Subject matter
Nkisi is a generic term for a class of power objects. These objects are employed as solutions to social and physical problems. They are ritually charged objects, able to facilitate movement of spirits between differnet points of existence.

Physical Description
Carved wooden human figure attached to an animal's horn. A plug or mushroom shaped projection extends from the human figure's head.

Primary Object Classification
Decorative Arts

Collection Area
African

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Figures
horn

5 Related Resources

& Author Notes

Web Use Permitted