Yombe fetish with human bones, metal scales and glass eyes.
An nkisi nkondi is a type of power figure, with an nkisi nkondi, the spirit is invoked by setting a nail or other metallic element into wood.
At the request of a theft victim, for example, a nail would be driven into the wooden figure and the Nkisi-Nkondi would punish the thief.
This type of sculpture also acts as a "deterrent" of bad intentions and negative actions; agreements were often sealed in front of the figure, who would then punish all future transgressors.
Wood dated circa 1955 from the Museum of Art and Science of Milan