The wide eyes of these sculptures suggest a living presence within. In the Kingdom of Kongo, men and women sought healing and protection from diviners who worked with powerful objects called minkisi (singular: nkisi). These works took many shapes - from cloth bundles to clay pots to human and animal figures - but all channeled the power of spiritual forces that were invited to live inside the container that had been made for them. During the era of the transatlantic slave trade - which saw as many as 3 million Kongolese citizens kidnapped and enslaved between 1500 and 1900 - more and more minkisi began to take human form. These works come from the 19th century, or soon after. Their human form and pose reflect the anxieties of this traumatic time in African history.