Dignitary staff

Description

wood, brown patina, blackend in parts, metal tags, surmounted by a stylized janiform figure wearing a glass bead necklace, a board-shaped flattened section and circular ornaments underneath, min. dam., missing parts (metal tags), fissures, slight traces of abrasion;
the numerous dignitaries within the hierarchy of the erstwhile Luba-Empire - king, regional sovereign, village chief and clan eldest - disposed of a rich supply of administrative signs. The most frequently used signs of dignity are staffs of office, like the present one.