Male Reliquary Figure

This depiction of a standing male figure is carved from wood and serves as the core of this accumulative sculpture. The barrel-shaped torso of the figure is tightly packed with powerful medicinal substances (bonga), which fill the cavity of the figure’s body. Characteristic to Teke ancestor representation by this master carver are the distinct facial features, including the slit eyes, triangular nostrils, projected forehead, and thin vertical parallel cicatrices along the cheeks and temples. The packed and encrusted abdomen emerges from a pair of sturdy, cylindrical legs with a slight conical point to indicate a bent of the knees but no feet are defined in carving. The figure bears a double-stacked coiffure and most notably, a wedge-shaped beard that protrudes directly underneath the wide mouth.

The general outline of the figure remains evident beneath the additional wrapping. Indeed, it is perhaps by the concealment of the trunk that the viewer’s attention is drawn to the elements of the statue that are deemed to be of key importance—in this case, the head. The seeming disparity between the jewel-like carving of the face and the chaotic mass that protrudes around the rest of the figure indicates that the meaning of the sculpture must be determined on two planes; by interpreting both the sculptural substructure and the later surface additions. These distinct elements combined determine how we look at this work, and how to interpret its meaning.

With its masterful carving, complete ritual encasement, and historical provenance, this classic Teke Nkiba fills an important gap in the Met's collection. The male figure depicted here represents a powerful ancestor (inkwii). Master sculptors would have sold such small-scale works in the marketplace, fashioning larger scale works for the benefit of an entire community on commission. By empowering and activating a figure representing an ancestor through the addition of bonga (powerful medicinal matter), a link between the living and the dead is formed, ensuring the peaceful functioning of society.

Edouard Ponel, a French officer who was a member of the French Mission La mission de l'Ouest Africain (1883–1885), was present in the region where such works were produced in the mid-1880s. He records that the use of such sculptures was common when Teke chiefs debated important matters, and their invocation was often linked with drinking rituals where kola and palm wine would be spat onto the figure. Ponel describes how, before the Teke chief spoke, "he takes an ebony fetish, places it between his knees and sprinkles it with palm wine." Throughout the discussion, the chief continued to tap the figure and pour wine on it so as to encourage the ancestral force contained within to play a part in the decision-making process (Dupré, 1996: 136). Kola nut was not only used to help the flow of conversation but was also considered an offering to the dead. By spitting this material onto the figure, the ancestral force it contains or materializes is implored to play an active role in the conversation (Etsio, 1999: 87).

Part of the famous collection of African and Oceanic works assembled by medical doctor Stephen Chauvet, this work was among those exhibited in New York in 1935 in the now iconic exhibition "African Negro Art."