Figure of a dog
- Audio guide stop: 177
- Gallery: Room 25
- Made in: Democratic Republic of Congo
- Date: 1880-1905 (circa)
- Object type: figure
- Materials: wood; iron; resin (?); fibre; horn (?); bone (?)
- Museum number: Af1905,0525.6
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a carved wooden figure known as a "Figure of a Dog." It represents a two-headed animal, featuring four eyes and a body reinforced with iron nails and wire. The figure also carries ivory tusks and possibly bone or horn elements. These materials, especially iron, are often linked to ritual power in Kongo traditions.
This work originates from the Democratic Republic of Congo and was likely made between 1880 and 1905 by members of the Bakongo people. Dogs in this region are seen as creatures that live between worlds—villages and forests—making them symbols of connection between the living and the dead. The figure’s design, including the added materials, suggests it was used in rituals by a spiritual specialist known as an nganga.
Acquired by the museum in 1905, the piece remains a striking example of symbolic and spiritual artistry in Central Africa.
See it in person
Figure of a dog is on display in Room 25 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and type its audio guide stop number, 177, from the gallery label, or take a photo of it, to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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