Handle of mvwala (staff of chiefly authority) (Woyo) - EO.1979.1.71
18th century. Elephant ivory. RD Congo. Registered in 1979. Former collection of RMAH. Collected by E. Dartevelle in 1933 from chief Pedro Diamante.
The mvwala staff was one of the attributes of the mfumu (chiefs). It is a symbol of authority and is comparable to a sceptre.
It often had an anthropomorphic or cephalomorphic handle sculpted in wood, ivory, or – more rarely – cast in metal.
