Staff

ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-staffs, scepters, & wands

Cultureprobably Yombe

Date20th Century

Made AtDemocratic Republic of the Congo, Africa

MediumWood and metal

Dimensions30 1/4 × 2 1/2 × 2 1/4 in. (76.8 × 6.4 × 5.7 cm)

Credit LineGift of Anne and Long Shung Shih

Object number2019.2.13

DescriptionThis wooden staff was almost certainly influenced by traditional woodcarving characteristics from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kneeling figures are particularly characteristic of Congolese art. Within the Yombe culture the form was particularly used as the finial element to staffs. Smaller elements such as the hole between the figure’s two front teeth and the window-pane patterns seen on the figure’s upper chest are also both characteristic of Yombe art—scarification was a common practice among the Yombe, appearing to a similar degree among the culture’s figural carvings. The staff itself serves as a symbol of prestige and the owner’s power, something which is passed on from generation to generation. The female figure is a symbol of fertility, which gives one the ability pass along their power to their descendants.

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