Hilt of a Mestre Staff – 17th-18th Century Copper alloy 16,5 x 10,8 cm D.R. Congo Hilts of this type were commonly known under their local denomination Santu Spilitu (Holy Spirit). According to some hypotheses, they were conceived to adorn the staffs of the maestri (interpreters of missionaries from noble descent). This piece shows close resemblance to two hilts belonging to the collection of the Africa Museum in Tervuren (HO.1953.100.1 and HO.1955.9.29). One of these pieces was collected in Congo-Kinshasa (Songa region) but was supposedly manufactured further to the south, in Bembe in Angola. This hilt from the Walschaerts collection was exhibited at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair and is described under number 35 in the exhibition’s catalog. It is noteworthy that during the same exhibition, another hilt was shown (n°36 in the catalog), which is also published in Julien Volper 2016, fig.25 Provenance Collection Walschaerts, Antwerp Exhibited Universal exhibition of Brussels, 1958 Published Art traditionnel: Exposition universelle et internationale de Bruxelles 1958, n°35, not illustrated