GENERAL DESCRIPTION
For the Baule peoples, fly whisks have functions beyond swatting away insects—they can be part of the Baule royal regalia. The value placed on this object is apparent from its gilded wooden handle. Red cloth and string are wrapped around the whisk's handle. The fabric's dye has transferred to the horsehair tail over time. A Janus-faced (or two-headed) feline caps the handle while human faces circle its base. Although the double-headed feline could symbolize an ability to confront many things at once, its precise meaning is not known. Fly whisks themselves represented financial wisdom. A Baule proverb compares these instruments to money and warns that, like a whisk in motion, riches are fleeting.
Adapted from
- Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, Arts of Africa, 2018.
NOTES
Below - see Jeelan's general description. I was unable to trace her source in object file, and in the interest of pushing the content without the need for curatorial review, I've substituted the exact text of the current label. 7/26/28 CLC
Among the Baule, authority is vested in the "notables," i.e., heads of a cluster of villages, rather than in chiefs and kings of centralized states. Fly whisks with a gilded, chalice-shaped handle (nandwa blawa) and a horsetail covered with imported red cloth serve as staffs of office. The notable usually carries a fly whisk, but sometimes, following the Asante model of linguist staffs, several fly whisks are entrusted to special members of his retinue. When fly whisks are displayed at public ceremonies and festivals, they are arranged in piles in several basins in front of the notable.
The surface of the wooden handle is decorated with carved geometric patterns, human faces, quarter moons, horns, and other objects, and is usually surmounted by a human figure or an animal, like this quadruped with heads facing in opposite directions. Over time, the gold leaf, cloth, and horsehair would be refurbished or replaced as necessary.
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PROVENANCE
2007: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from Aspects of Africa, New York
The main source for this provenance is the invoice dated January 4, 2007, in the Collections Records object file.
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WEB RESOURCES
- Smithsonian Institution~View a 1972 photograph of a Baule woman holding gilded wood fly whisks of dignitary N'Goran Koffi in Kouassiblekro, Ivory Coast.
- Smithsonian Institution~View an image of fly whisks from Yogolikro village, Côte d'Ivoire .
- Smithsonian Institution~See a photograph of Baule sculptor Konan Yao with fly whisks.
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General Description
For the Baule peoples, fly whisks have functions beyond swatting away insects—they can be part of the Baule royal regalia. The value placed on this object is apparent from its gilded wooden handle. Red cloth and string are wrapped around the whisk's handle. The fabric's dye has transferred to the horsehair tail over time. A Janus-faced (or two-headed) feline caps the handle while human faces circle its base. Although the double-headed feline could symbolize an ability to confront many things at once, its precise meaning is not known. Fly whisks themselves represented financial wisdom. A Baule proverb compares these instruments to money and warns that, like a whisk in motion, riches are fleeting.
Adapted from
- Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, Arts of Africa, 2018.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Smithsonian Institution~View a 1972 photograph of a Baule woman holding gilded wood fly whisks of dignitary N'Goran Koffi in Kouassiblekro, Ivory Coast.
- Smithsonian Institution~View an image of fly whisks from Yogolikro village, Côte d'Ivoire .
- Smithsonian Institution~See a photograph of Baule sculptor Konan Yao with fly whisks.
Notes
Below - see Jeelan's general description. I was unable to trace her source in object file, and in the interest of pushing the content without the need for curatorial review, I've substituted the exact text of the current label. 7/26/28 CLC
Among the Baule, authority is vested in the "notables," i.e., heads of a cluster of villages, rather than in chiefs and kings of centralized states. Fly whisks with a gilded, chalice-shaped handle (nandwa blawa) and a horsetail covered with imported red cloth serve as staffs of office. The notable usually carries a fly whisk, but sometimes, following the Asante model of linguist staffs, several fly whisks are entrusted to special members of his retinue. When fly whisks are displayed at public ceremonies and festivals, they are arranged in piles in several basins in front of the notable.
The surface of the wooden handle is decorated with carved geometric patterns, human faces, quarter moons, horns, and other objects, and is usually surmounted by a human figure or an animal, like this quadruped with heads facing in opposite directions. Over time, the gold leaf, cloth, and horsehair would be refurbished or replaced as necessary.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
2007: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from Aspects of Africa, New York
The main source for this provenance is the invoice dated January 4, 2007, in the Collections Records object file.
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