A rare and very collectable vintage cast bronze `Kongo Crucifix` (Nkangi Kiditu Crucifix) in amaz...

This rare and very collectable vintage cast bronze "Kongo Crucifix" (Nkangi Kiditu Crucifix) is an amazing find and is in great condition for its age. Although there is no date reference to the crucifix, similar style and shape crucifixes date it to around the mid 1900's. The bronze crucifix is 24.3cm high and is 17cm wide. The essentially Catholic artefact was adapted by the Kongo people (now DRG and Congo) - see the article below. There is also a small wooden Catholic ornament measuring 12.7 cm long (when open) x 8.5cm high.

From the internet: When Portuguese explorers first arrived at the mouth of the Zaire River in 1483, the Kongo kingdom was thriving and prosperous, with extensive commercial networks between the coast, interior, and equatorial forests to the north. Portugal and Kongo soon established a strong trading partnership. In addition to material goods, the Portuguese also brought Christianity, which was rapidly adopted by Kongo rulers and established as the state religion in the early sixteenth century by King Afonso Mvemba a Nzinga. The adoption of Christianity allowed Kongo kings to foster international alliances not only with Portuguese leaders but also with the Vatican. In response to their new faith, Kongo craftsmen began to introduce Christian iconography into their artistic repertoire. Although the general depiction of the central Christ figure with arms extended follows Western conventions, the features of the face are African. The presence of four smaller figures with clasped handstwo seated on the top edges of the cross, one at the apex, and one at the baseis a departure from standard iconography (left). These figures are more abstract and remote, in contrast to the expressionistic treatment of Christ.