Figural fly whisk "mfunga mfumu" ·  D. R. Congo, Dondo · ID: 3033890

Description

wood, reddish brown patina, animal tail, in the shape of a kneeling female figure rising from a flat base, her cylindrical trunk decorated with brass tags, thin arms up to the back of the head, the fly whisk of animal hair inserted into the head, slightly dam., cracks (left side of body and head, base), on trapezoid base;
the originally pure functional use has developed in a highly decorative style, it became a prestige object. We may say that it is no longer a fly whisk but an emblem of power, a symbol of authority. These so-called “fly whisks” are part of the regalia of a chief (“mfumu”) or other political leader.

Comparing literature

Lehuard, Raoul, Art Bakongo, Les Centres de Style, o.O. 1989, p. 117