Fly Whisk

Flywhisks are used all over Africa as utilitarian items - to keep the ever-present insects away. However, just as with virtually all objects of utility, the flywhisk often becomes a symbol of rank and status based on the quality of the carving by the artisan who produced it and the nobleman who paid for it.

This particular flywhisk comes from the Luba people of the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly the Luba of the Upemba region, who create some of the greatest masterpieces of Luba art.

The whisk depicts a female figure with her hands to her breasts in a gesture of submissiveness and welcoming, with thick neck rings denoting wealth.

The Luba, though patrilineal, produce an abundance of sculpture with female imagery. It has been conjectured that the Luba were originally matrilineal and that their art forms still reflect this. Such an object of status would only have been allowed to have been publicly used by a high ranking individual such as a chief or a relative of a chief.