1969.S.191 Staff with standing male figure

This sculpture may be the upper section of the staff or spear of a Songye chief or a walking cane for a notable. The figure resembles the standing nkisi power figure (2014.4.1.McD), which represents a chief whose neck is ringed with blue and white beads and whose hands hold a bulging belly filled with magical substances. The association is fitting because a Songye chief was considered to be a sacred and benign figure endowed with the most supreme mystical powers As such, he was the supreme nganga (religious specialists) who could activate minkisi (pl., or nkisi) to assure the well-being of his community.

Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, Arts of Africa, 2015.

n.d.: Walschot Collection, Brussels

n.d.: Clark and Frances Stillman Collection, Dallas, Texas/New York

1969: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of Eugene and Margaret McDermott [1]

[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

Apply to objects where number equals 1969.S.191