22 · OBJECT · KONGO CHRISTIANITY
Kongo crucifix A crucifix transformed in Kongo
Kongo artists cast brass crucifixes and gave them uses within their own religious and political practices.
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History and context Evidence and facts Objects connected through time Further reading Location and territory Where it is held Sources and references Comments Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.
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EDITORIAL VISUALISATION DECLARED · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS Editorial visualisation · Contextual correspondence
Declared editorial visualisation, based on the cartography and sources of the fact sheet; it is not an exact historical frontier.
View full image: EDITORIAL VISUALISATION DECLARED · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS EDITORIAL VISUALISATION DECLARED · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS Editorial visualisation · Contextual correspondence
Declared editorial visualisation, based on the cartography and sources of the fact sheet; it is not an exact historical frontier.
View full image: Original documentary · Photograph of the original Original documentary · Photograph of the original Documentary original · Exact correspondence
Documentary photograph from the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection. Adapted for the web: size and format adjusted, without reconstructing parts or changing the photograph’s content.
Inventory number 1999.295.7 and Met record 318323 identify the object described; this photograph shows its surviving condition, not an AI restoration.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York · Inventory: 1999.295.7 · CC0 1.0 · Open Access
View full image: Detail of the original · Detail of the upper figure of the crucifix Detail of the original · Detail of the upper figure of the crucifix Documentary original · Exact correspondence
Documentary photograph from the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection. Adapted for the web: size and format adjusted, without reconstructing parts or changing the photograph’s content.
Inventory number 1999.295.7 and Met record 318323 identify the object described; this photograph shows its surviving condition, not an AI restoration.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York · Inventory: 1999.295.7 · CC0 1.0 · Open Access
History and context Kongo artists cast in brass a Christian form that had arrived through Atlantic networks.
The object could express devotion, mediation and prestige within local political systems.
Evidence and interpretation The Met catalogues the region, date, material, number and condition. Specific uses are inferred through comparison.
Catalogue facts
Narrative date 16th–17th centuries
Location Kongo region; now The Met, New York
Material Solid brass, 27.3 cm
Context Religious translation and authority
Curatorial reading The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Dossier axis treasures
Research record BANTU · bantu-treasure-kongo-crucifix
Documentary coverage 2 museum, heritage, primary corpus or research sources for this stop. Copper and its alloys11 Casting21 Sculpture54 Human imagery73 Worship and offerings29
The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.
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8 / 8 In the centre: Kongo crucifix
Also connected, without a comparable date (3) These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.
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Casting Akkadian sovereign head · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · SumerBassetki Statue · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · SumerJue · c. sixteenth century BCE · Ancient ChinaBull-leaping · c. 1600–1450 BCE · Greek worldsLiding · 12th–11th centuries BCE · Ancient ChinaTalayotic sword · ≈1200–1000 BCE · destruction of the talayot towards 790 BCE · IberiansThe lute-shaped dagger · Towards 1000–400 BCE · Gojoseon and early KoreaThe great Greek krater of Vix · ≈530–500 BCE · Greek worldsScorțaru cauldron · 6th–5th centuries BCE · ThraciansA battle on a comb · Early 4th century BCE · Scythians and SakaThe blade became straight · 5th–1st centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early KoreaGeometry in very fine lines · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early KoreaEight voices in one hand · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early KoreaFibula from Lancia · ≈300–100 BCE · IberiansHorse fibula · 2nd century BCE · disputed chronology · IberiansA sky over the liver · End of the second–beginning of the first century BCE · Etruscans and RomeThirty-nine buried bells · Buried towards the 1st century BCE–1st century CE · Yayoi JapanKongo crucifix · 16th–17th centuries · Bantu-speaking worlds — You are viewingWithout a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):
Sculpture Lion-man · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · PrehistoryLespugue · ≈28,000 years · PrehistoryZaraysk Bison · ≈23,000–21,000 years · PrehistoryShigir Idol · C. 10,000 BCE · approximation; debated dating · PrehistoryWarka Mask · End of the 4th millennium BCE · SumerGebel el-Arak knife · 3600–3200 BCE · Naqada II C–D · Ancient EgyptUruk Vase · ca. 3300–3000 BCE · SumerNarmer Palette · ca. 3100 BCE · Ancient EgyptBefore Yayoi · Middle Jōmon, ca. 3000 BCE · Yayoi JapanUr-Nanshe relief · Mid-3rd millennium BCE · reign of Ur-Nanshe · SumerThe goat from PG 1237 · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · SumerStele of the Vultures · Towards 2450–2425 BCE · SumerAkkadian sovereign head · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · SumerBassetki Statue · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · SumerNaram-Sin Stele · Reign of Naram-Sin, 2254–2218 BCE · SumerBefore Pre-Inca Cultures · Kotosh-Mito Tradition, c. 2200–1500 BCE; the enclosure is usually situated around 1800 BCE. · Pre-Inca culturesQueen of the Night · 19th–18th centuries BCE · SumerBull-leaping · c. 1600–1450 BCE · Greek worldsWooden faces · c. 1600–1000 BCE, in several phases · Maya worldsHead 2 · c. 1200–900 BCE · Maya worldsThe voice of Ahiram · c. 11th–10th century BCE · PhoeniciansBefore the Scythians and Sakas · Final Bronze–Initial Iron, ca. 1200–600 BCE · Scythians and SakaBlack Obelisk · 825 BCE · SumerIvory in Nimrud · 9th–8th centuries BCE · PhoeniciansLas Limas · c. 1000–600 BCE · Maya worldsAstarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · PhoeniciansAstarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · IberiansLamassu of Khorsabad · Reign of Sargon II · 721–705 BCE · SumerThe Lanzón · c. 900–500 BCE · Pre-Inca culturesStele of Esarhaddon · 7th century BC C. · 671 campaign BCE · SumerThe so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · PhoeniciansThe so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · IberiansThe Tello Obelisk · c. 800–500 BCE · Pre-Inca culturesAshurbanipal Hunt · 645–635 BCE · SumerHeads on the wall · c. 800–300 BCE · Pre-Inca culturesTwo voices in an urn · 530–520 BCE · Etruscans and RomeThe god on the roof · Towards 510–500 BCE · Etruscans and RomeGlazed brick guards · 522–486 BCE · Achaemenid PersiaTwenty-three delegations · 6th–5th centuries BCE, mainly under Darius and Xerxes · Achaemenid PersiaSarcophagus of Eshmunazar · first quarter of the 5th century BCE · PhoeniciansThe statue was the urn · First half of the 4th century BCE · IberiansThe Raimondi Stele · c. 400–200 BCE according to MNAAHP · Pre-Inca culturesTorreáguila fountain spout · 101–125 CE · Etruscans and RomeThe date of 292 · 292 CE · Maya worldsArticulated doll from Tarragona · Late 3rd–4th century CE · Etruscans and RomeSeven heads · c. 500–700 CE · Bantu-speaking worldsSeated figure · 13th century, date attributed by the museum · Mande WorldsGold rhinoceros · ca. 1220–1290; found in 1933 · Bantu-speaking worldsZimbabwe birds · main period of Great Zimbabwe, c. 12th–15th centuries · Bantu-speaking worldsKongo crucifix · 16th–17th centuries · Bantu-speaking worlds — You are viewingKuba ndop · ca. 1760 · Bantu-speaking worldsWithout a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):
Before Persia · Central core c. seventeenth century BCE; Neo-Elamite additions between the ninth and sixth centuries BCE · Achaemenid PersiaLararium of Vilauba · Roman period · Etruscans and RomeThe Thracian Horseman · Roman era · diffusion especially in the 2nd–3rd centuries CE · ThraciansHuman imagery Lion-man · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · PrehistoryHohle Fels · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · PrehistoryWillendorf · ≈29,500 years · PrehistoryBrno II Articulated Figure · ≈28,000 years cal BP · by funerary association · PrehistoryDolní Věstonice I · ≈29,000–27,000 years · PrehistoryLespugue · ≈28,000 years · PrehistoryKostenki I · ≈23,000–21,000 years · PrehistoryShigir Idol · C. 10,000 BCE · approximation; debated dating · PrehistoryNahal Hemar mask · Eighth millennium BCE · context dating, not direct dating of the stone · PrehistoryEl Miradero spatula-idols · ≈4000–3800 cal BCE · PrehistoryWarka Mask · End of the 4th millennium BCE · SumerCueva de las Manos · Sequence ≈9300–1300 BP · PrehistoryUruk Vase · ca. 3300–3000 BCE · SumerWorshiper of Tell Asmar · Towards 2900–2600 BCE · SumerStandard of Ur · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · SumerStatue of Ebih-Il · Towards 2400 BCE · SumerAkkadian sovereign head · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · SumerBassetki Statue · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · SumerBefore Pre-Inca Cultures · Kotosh-Mito Tradition, c. 2200–1500 BCE; the enclosure is usually situated around 1800 BCE. · Pre-Inca culturesQueen of the Night · 19th–18th centuries BCE · SumerBull-leaping · c. 1600–1450 BCE · Greek worldsWooden faces · c. 1600–1000 BCE, in several phases · Maya worldsHead 2 · c. 1200–900 BCE · Maya worldsIvory in Nimrud · 9th–8th centuries BCE · PhoeniciansLas Limas · c. 1000–600 BCE · Maya worldsAstarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · PhoeniciansAstarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · IberiansLamassu of Khorsabad · Reign of Sargon II · 721–705 BCE · SumerThe Lanzón · c. 900–500 BCE · Pre-Inca culturesOffering 4 · c. 800–600 BCE · Maya worldsKushite king · c. 721–664 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and KushThe so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · PhoeniciansThe so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · IberiansHeads on the wall · c. 800–300 BCE · Pre-Inca culturesShabti of Psamtek · 570–526 BCE · Ancient EgyptTwo voices in an urn · 530–520 BCE · Etruscans and RomeThe god on the roof · Towards 510–500 BCE · Etruscans and RomeGlazed brick guards · 522–486 BCE · Achaemenid PersiaTwenty-three delegations · 6th–5th centuries BCE, mainly under Darius and Xerxes · Achaemenid PersiaBanquet under leopards · Around 480–470 BCE · Etruscans and RomeThe statue was the urn · First half of the 4th century BCE · IberiansA battle on a comb · Early 4th century BCE · Scythians and SakaThe Kul-Oba vase · 4th century BCE · Greek worldsThe Solokha gold comb · 4th century BCE · Greek worldsFaces of the Steppe · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Scythians and SakaLady of Ibiza · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · PhoeniciansPunic head pendant · Mid 4th–3rd centuries BCE · PhoeniciansLady of Ibiza · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · IberiansThe Raimondi Stele · c. 400–200 BCE according to MNAAHP · Pre-Inca culturesChão de Lamas pectoral · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · concealed in the early 1st century BCE · IberiansVas dels Guerrers · 3rd–early 2nd century BCE · IberiansWarriors' Vase · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · IberiansThe dismantled cauldron · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worldsThe walls of San Bartolo · c. 100 BCE · Maya worldsGladiators Cup of Chavagnes · 25–75 CE · Etruscans and RomeThracian Gladiator from Cádiz · 67–100 CE · Etruscans and RomeTorreáguila fountain spout · 101–125 CE · Etruscans and RomeArticulated doll from Tarragona · Late 3rd–4th century CE · Etruscans and RomeSeven heads · c. 500–700 CE · Bantu-speaking worldsSeated figure · 13th century, date attributed by the museum · Mande WorldsKongo crucifix · 16th–17th centuries · Bantu-speaking worlds — You are viewingKuba ndop · ca. 1760 · Bantu-speaking worldsWithout a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):
Before Persia · Central core c. seventeenth century BCE; Neo-Elamite additions between the ninth and sixth centuries BCE · Achaemenid PersiaBhimbetka · Mesolithic–historical and medieval period · PrehistoryEland Cave · Regional tradition of ≈4,000 years · up to historical period · PrehistoryFour offerers · Iberian period · individual dating according to catalogue · IberiansGame Pass Shelter · Regional rock art chronology · panel not dated in isolation · San historiesLararium of Vilauba · Roman period · Etruscans and RomeLeang Karampuang · Minimum 51,200 years · dating published in 2024 · PrehistoryQuinkan Country · Regional art up to ≈27,000 BP · modern continuity · PrehistorySierra de San Francisco · Broad tradition with direct dates ≈5290–295 BP · PrehistoryTassili n’Ajjer · Corpus ≈6000 BCE–first centuries CE · PrehistoryThe Thracian Horseman · Roman era · diffusion especially in the 2nd–3rd centuries CE · ThraciansWorship and offerings Uruk Vase · ca. 3300–3000 BCE · SumerWorshiper of Tell Asmar · Towards 2900–2600 BCE · SumerStatue of Ebih-Il · Towards 2400 BCE · SumerBefore Phoenicia · 20th–18th centuries BCE · PhoeniciansJue · c. sixteenth century BCE · Ancient ChinaRubber before the stadium · c. 1600–1200 BCE for the oldest specimens · Maya worldsWooden faces · c. 1600–1000 BCE, in several phases · Maya worldsLiding · 12th–11th centuries BCE · Ancient ChinaAstarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · PhoeniciansAstarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · IberiansThe invisible mosaic · c. 900–600 BCE · Maya worldsOffering 4 · c. 800–600 BCE · Maya worldsUni was also Astarte · Towards 510 BCE · Etruscans and RomeThe god on the roof · Towards 510–500 BCE · Etruscans and RomeThoth in the form of a baboon · 664–30 BCE · Ancient EgyptPoroina Mare Rhyton · Second half of the 4th century BCE · ThraciansEight voices in one hand · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early KoreaThirty-nine buried bells · Buried towards the 1st century BCE–1st century CE · Yayoi JapanBetatun altar · 1st century BCE–1st century CE · IberiansKongo crucifix · 16th–17th centuries · Bantu-speaking worlds — You are viewingWithout a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):
A closer look About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026 .
Five figures and different treatments of the body The central Christ presents broad hands and feet, incised ribs and marked volumes in the torso. The four smaller figures, with hands clasped, are resolved more abstractly: two kneel at the vertical extremes and the other two sit on the arms of the cross. These visible artist choices redistribute gestures and presence within a recognisable Christian form. The piece allows study of a concrete transformation of the model, not a generic cultural mix: it changes the relationship between the central body, attendants and the structure that supports them.
Location and territory Physical world map with routes of human evolution Present-day world coastline from Natural Earth in an equirectangular projection. The overlaid markers let you explore each milestone. Map base: Natural Earth 1:110m · public domain · present-day reference coastline REGIONAL AREA
Kongo region; now The Met, New York Current maximum linguistic envelope and historical corridors; it was not a single political territory nor was it occupied simultaneously. The footprint indicates the indicative centre of the sphere, not a border or an exact point. Where it is held Item or group in the record · Documented collection
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