Baule Royal Fly Whisk

A great black sweep of horsehair, and a fist of gold to hold it by.

This royal fly whisk is Baule, from Morofe in the Akwe region of Ivory Coast, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is gold over wood, with horse tail and cloth. In the courts of the region, a whisk generally belonged to the visible language of authority, carried as a sign of office. Red cloth bound with twisted cord wraps the grip. The gold pommel flares like a bell, patterned with fine lines, with a bird and small figures in relief. Forty-four inches high.

It moves the air around a person. Then the people around the person.