Description
This figure is one of the two tallest of the seven anthropomorphic minkisi figurines previously in the Delenne collection. Identified as an nduda, two upward “guns” are attached on its side loaded with gunpowder used to shoot witches. Its label bears the word colique, a term referring to heavy pains caused by intestinal obstruction.
Provenance
(Unidentified art dealer, Nice, FR, 1961, sold to René and Odette Delenne) (?-1961); René [1901-1998] and Odette Delenne [1925-2012], Brussels, BE, 2010, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art (1961-2010); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2010 (2010)
Accession Number
2010.441
Medium
Wood, organic materials (including resin), cloth, metalized glass, possibly porcelain, and plant fiber
Dimensions
Overall: 23 x 9 x 11 cm (9 1/16 x 3 9/16 x 4 5/16 in.)
Classification
Sculpture
Credit Line
René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund