**Originally Listed At $600**

Africa, Ivory Coast, Senufo people, ca. early 20th century CE. A tall staff made of a thin blade of iron and capped with a wooden figure of a woman. Wrapped around the wooden handle are braided leather straps, each ending in a dangling cowrie shell. The female figure has a large crest of hair and a carefully carved body. Size: 1.3" W x 44" H (3.3 cm x 111.8 cm)

This type of staff is known as a champion-cultivator staff, given as a prize to the man in the society who is the best at agriculture. Skill at providing for one's clan and community is the ethos of the ideal male in Senufo culture. During the cultivating season, young men work in the fields to the rhythms of drums and xylophones, while staff bearers follow the competing champions on each team. Outside of that season, the staffs are held as sacred objects, their lineages of past champions carefully recorded. The woman on top of the staff represents an ideal wife for the champion.

Provenance: Ex-Adeon Gallery, Chicago, IL, acquired prior to 1970

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#119089

Patina over all surfaces, including iron, leather, wood, and shell.