H x W x D: 37.8 x 4 x 3.5 cm (14 7/8 x 1 9/16 x 1 3/8 in.)
Type:
Textile and Fiber Arts
Geography:
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Date:
19th century
Label Text:
Part of a ruler's regalia, this flywhisk handle once had a buffalo tail attached to its upper end. The depiction of a seated ruler with all his regalia further emphasized the status conveyed by the use of ivory. The female figure represents the support of the matrilineal line. The elephant carrying a rooster alludes to a Kongo myth in which an elephant carries the sons of the great Ne Kongo, founder of the Kongo kingdom. The row of small oval shapes represents cowrie shells, which were once used as currency.
Description:
Carved ivory tusk with a solid plug on top of the seated male figure wearing a cap with interlace design. He holds an inverted tusk, sword, has long tailed hairstyle, stretched ears or earrings and an open mouth with space between the front teeth. A line of cowrie shells carved in relief is down the sides. There is a smaller crosslegged female figue and on the reverse of the tusk, a bird atop the back of the elephant.
Provenance:
Paul and Ruth Tishman, New York
Exhibition History:
Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa's Arts, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 4, 2017-ongoing
The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection Highlights, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., May 21, 2009-June 4, 2014
African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., February 15, 2007-March 31, 2009
For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1981
Published References:
Felix, Marc Leo (ed). 2011. White Gold, Black Hands: Ivory Sculpture in Congo, Vol 2. Qiquhar, Heilungkiang, The People's Republic of China: Gemini Sun, pp. 26, 42-43, 48, 54, 308, nos. 436, 486, 509, 526.
Kreamer, Christine Mullen, Bryna Freyer and Andrea Nicolls. 2007. African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 222-223, no. 80.
Patton, Sharon F. and Bryna Freyer. 2008. Treasures 2008. Washington D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 126-127.
Ross, Doran (ed.) 1992. Elephant: The Animal and Its Ivory in African Culture. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California, p. 28, no. 1-42A, B.
Vogel, Susan (ed). 1981. For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 206-207, no. 122.
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