Figural carved staff ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Senufo · ID: 3046847

Description

wood, leather, cowry shells,
This staff is crowned by a standing female figure in contrast to the “tefalipitya” staffs, which are always carved with seated females.

Himmelheber assumed that this type of staff was associated with fertility, and reported that they belonged to young girls and that they were employed as a sort of badge to demonstrate their status to the young men as being newly circumcised and untouchable.

The object Figural carved staff with the object ID 3046847 was last part of the auction Voyage Tribal Art - Live Online Auction at May 23, 2020 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 146.

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