Amulet or crucifix. We do not know what this was used for, but the shape of the object is clearly a mix of African and European traditions. From the late 15th century until the 17th century, many Catholic missionaries operated in the Kingdom of Kongo. Much of the court and the Kongo elite converted to Christianity. Crucifixes were common symbols of Christian devotion, and members of the elite class were often buried with them.
Many of the crucifixes from this period found in museum collections are marked with symbols that reference Kongo cosmology. This is evidence that the Congolese did not entirely abandon their worldview in conjunction with their conversion to Christianity.
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