A WOOD AND NAILS MAGICAL FIGURE 'NKISI N' KONDI'Democrtic Republic of the Kongo, Kongo76 cm high Provenance: Vittorio Bellini (1936-2009) collection.Figures like this originally served to contain medical substances or the spirit of the ancestors, introduced to sculpture completed by a very specific figure of the community. Later, the diviner 'nganga' called into question the spirit contained in the sculpture through specific rituals, including the sticking of nails and other blunt objects that should have instigated it against its enemies.