Dog

Label TextDogs can make good detectives, with acute senses to follow the path of an enemy. This dog's front legs have been lengthened to emphasize his state of readiness. Such an nkisi (protective image) may have been provided to remind someone to be more decisive.

Object number81.17.840

Exhibition HistoryLos Angeles, California, Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery, University of California, African Art in Motion: Icon and Act, Jan. 20 - Mar. 17, 1974 (Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, May 5 - Sept. 22, 1974). Text by Robert Farris Thompson. No cat. no., p. 73, reproduced pl. 100 (as seated dog). San Francisco, California, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, Kongo Power Figures, Nov. 15, 1989 - Jan. 21, 1990.

Credit LineGift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

Dimensions14 1/4 x 2 15/16 x 6 7/8 in. (36.2 x 7.5 x 17.5 cm)

MediumWood, cloth, resin, camwood powder