African art description of the Nkondi (Essay Sample)

African Art History Nkonde Nail Fetish sculpture
The Nkonde is a magnificent power figure found in art galleries that is highly regarded in Africa. It originated from the Congo and has got significant recognition across the world’s museums and art galleries. This paper shall therefore be geared in describing the art techniques utilized to achieve it. Standing on a base of square that is pitched forward, it is an image with a large oval head projects frontwards with arms akimbo. The torso has got numerous iron nails and blades that encircle a rectangular cavity found in the center. The figure, exhibiting some haemophradatic characteristics has got some large female breast shaped details that have been placed in the upper chest (MacGaffey, 2000). In contrast, a male shaped piece of bone that has been curved protrudes from the lower part of the torso figure. A person can also see some deep curved penetrating eyes which have been tainted by color. The nice sculpted lips and bare filed teeth and tongue stick out of the figure as well. The head is then covered with a knot at the top to complement the hands that seem to be akimbo.
This sculpture can be approximated to be about 14lbs and magical objects cover almost the whole of the surface. Concentrating on the torso, there is a noticeable maze of multiple nails that are in diverse shapes and sizes (Delafosse, 2012). Some ribbon strips of an animal material with some hair attached appear and twisted fibers are put as thread through the nails. Another collar of mud is crusted along with rolled fabric wrapped around the neck of the figure. Another swath of fabric that is rolled is worn around the lower torso. Inside the abdomen is a piece of some mirror like glass that is meant to make vague the filled cavity that is believed to repel evil spirit.
Some imperfections on the wood are visible but this does not stop the image from portraying an overall good condition of age and wear. The age cracks are visible showing chips on the back left of the base. Some of the thin crust in the head is also somehow flaked off. Looking at the material utilized for the sculpture, there is a taint of a pot like substance used on the figure. It can be seen to be in a pot or calabash like material that is easy to curve out the features into while hammering nails on it.
The sculpture’s color is a captivating grey color with spots of white on the abdomen and the eyes. This gives an element of symbolism that shows the figure is utilized for purposes of appeasing the spirits. The use of color grey is significant in showing the ethnicity of the sculpture that also rhymes with the theme of spiritual attribution (MacGaffey, 2000).
The sculpture also utilizes curved lines to create a silhouette pattern of the Nkonde. This can be observed on the shoulders and abdomen that are both curved. The nails are shown as sharp objects utilizing straight lines to show how they have been pinned on the chest of the figure. It is from this use of line that one can observe the disproportionate nature of the sculpture. Comparing the head, the body and the feet, the head seems a little bigger than the body with strong legs that are apart. The fact that hands are seen to be appearing akimbo can be attributed to the concept of trying to balance the body. There are also elements of brown color use on the lower part of the sculpture right from the waist to the knees. The rest of the body utilizes grey hence creating a contrast of imagery that ensures observers to understand the creation of the figure.
The material used on the base of the feet is also disproportionate. One of the legs on the right has got a less thick base while the other stands on a thick platform that shows sheer imagery of how the Nkonde is a figure of luck and balance in the societal divides. Around the abdomen lies a protrusion that seems to have been made from a bark of a pot and seems to be split in the middle. This image also depicts the use of space in art. Ideally the spacing of the legs indicates that most probably the Nkonde is trying to balance in a situation where there are no proportionate situations.
In terms of texture, the contrast present is despicable, with the head having a rough outlook that shows a top knotted tip of head and other sharp objects protruding from the face. This is in contrast with the rest of the body that is somewhat smooth especially in relation to the legs and part of the arms that do no...