A «Muila» dance staff

A «Muila» dance staff
wood, leather, beads, buttons, metal
carved staff top "Torso and head of woman with trilobed hairstyle".
Angolan - Lubango - Huila
20th C. (1st half)
fault on one of the arms of the sculpture, fracture, possibly later leather, major patina wear, other small faults and defects
purchased at an exhibition of handicrafts held in Luanda, on the Marginal, by the Instituto do Trabalho, in August 1966
Dimensões (altura x comprimento x largura) - 39 cm
Notes: Provenance: Collection of Engineer Elísio Romariz dos Santos Silva, item number 60, mentioned in the notebook of the collector «Angola - Arte Negra, Relação e descrição das peças», identified in it as «Bastão de dança Muila (?) - Itanda (?) »: "The staff is surmounted by a half body with two arms, one of which, the left one, is 'broken'. The head, with a trilobed hairstyle, is ornamented with brass metal studs [...]. Covering the body is a leather cover, made up of three pieces; the central one over the others [...]. Purchased at an exhibition of Handicrafts held in Luanda, on the Marginal, by the Instituto do Trabalho, in August 1966 [...]. This item's file (1751) did not specify the ethnicity of its author and owner - Chimbindua, from the village of Hoque, Posto do Hoque, Municipality of Lubango, District of Huíla". "The staffs that represent unique figures (often female) usually represent the ancestral spirit that protects the respective owner […]" - cf. JORDÁN, Manuel - "Os Tshokwe e Povos Aparentados". In "Na presença dos Espíritos - Arte Africana do Museu Nacional de Etnologia, Lisboa". Lisboa: Museu Nacional de Etnologia, 2000, p. 109.