Kongo
Fly Whisk Finial (Nsesa)
Kongo, Late 19th-early 20th century
Scroll
Kongo
Fly Whisk Finial (Nsesa)
Kongo, Late 19th-early 20th century
Physical Qualities
Wood, 10 7/16 x 2 3/16 x 1 15/16 in. (26.5 x 5.5 x 5 cm.)
Credit Line
Anonymous Gift
Object Number
1995.151
Kongo community and ceremonial leaders were the primary patrons of Kongo carvers, who supplied the necessary emblems and implements of the rulers' important social roles. The flywhisk handle and staff incorporate imagery that suggests the profound sources and extensive reach of a leader's power and enhanced the effectiveness of the objects themselves. A woman of status, noted by her embroidered cap and armlets, kneels in the Kongo gesture of blessing; a prisoner's hands are bound behind him; a lizard, dweller of two realms, evokes a leader's access to both the living and ancestral spheres.
Gallery Rotation, Wurtzburger Case 1, December 2009 - present.
Frederick John Lamp, "See the Music Hear the Dance: Rethinking African Art at the Baltimore Museum of Art." New York: Prestel, 2003, p.73, ill.
