Dignitary staff "mwala" · R. D. Congo, Bakongo · ID: 3038468
Adam Prout, Worcestershire, Great Britain
Description
light brown wood, partyl shiny brown patina, the upper third carved with three figures, min. dam., cracks, slight traces of abrasion;
the founding myths of the Kongo peoples state that nine staffs “mwala” of the nine original clans were needed to rule. The chief’s staff “mwala” was a conduit of communication and a symbol of legitimacy that linked the ancestors with the living. Linked with the earth, it often has a sharp iron tip to be planted in the ground.
L’objet Dignitary staff “mwala” avec l’ID d’objet 3038468 a fait partie de l’enchère 79th Tribal Art Auction en 21 mars 2015 pour la dernière fois le Zemanek-Münster Hôtel des ventes et avait le numéro de lot 375.
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Littérature comparée
Cooksey, Susan et. al., Kongo across the waters, Gainesville 2013, p. 114, ill. 2.15