Fly whisk

Amhara artist · Early to mid-19th century

In most of Africa, flywhisks were carried as prestige regalia and during masquerades. They emphasized both gestures and spoken words. Their materials tended to be made of inherantly status conferring materials. For example this flywhisk that was once owned by Emperor Theodor (1855-1868) of Ethiopia is made of richly dyed horsehair. The horse is associated with military success and is valued in direct relationship with how difficult horses are to maintain in tse tse fly infested regions.