Beaded Flywhisk-Sitting Royal Figure - Tribal Art
A beautiful beaded flywhisk. The handle is gorgeously decorated with red, white and black glass beads in a zigzag pattern. An exquisitely made figure holding a jug sits atop the handle. The body of the figure is covered with a sublime triangular pattern of red, white and black beads. Vivid green beads are sparingly used on the jug and the figures’ headdress to create an eye-catching contrast. The tail of the whisk is fashioned from a beautiful mane of black horse hair which is woven around the bottom of the handle.
Dimensions approx. 83 (100) x 14 x 17 cm
Beaded art from the Cameroon Grasslands collected between 1985 and 2005. Rulers throughout the many Kingdoms in the Cameroon Grassland region (Bamileke –Bamum -Tikar) employed a range of Regalia to assert their political, economic and religious power. Presented publicly in lavish displays of wealth and power, many court objects were distinguished by their elaborate bead embroidery. Imported from Venice, Bohemia or Amsterdam, glass beads were considered a luxury material whose use and distribution were controlled by the King. The decoration of objects with vast quantities of brilliantly colored beads transformed utilitarian objects into symbols of royal status and prestige.
All lots are in the state the collector acquire them. No restorations or cleaning has been performed.
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