Dignitary wand
Angola, Ovimbundu
sold
EUR 2,000
Provenance
Gallery Alibaba, Bordeaux, France (1969)Hans Hess, Basel, Switzerland (1975)
Eduard Hess, Basel, Switzerland
Size
H: 41 cm
H: 16.1 inch
Description
wood, shiny middle brown patina, circular shaft, crowned by an anthropomorphic head with loop-shaped coiffure, min. dam., cracks, on wooden base;
staffs are multi-functional. They are called title, ritual or chief’s staff. They were, and in many areas still are, a status symbol, a distinguishing mark or tool, used by a wide range of ritual specialists, such as headman, diviners, healers, exorcists, and witch hunters, in a great variety of ways.