Staff of office

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Description

wood, brown patina, board-shaped flattened intersections, partly engraved with fine notched diamond-shaped patterns, crowned by a seated figure , fissures, minor missing parts, 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. The broad sections of Luba staffs, called “dibulu”, represent the administrative centers that are part of every royal capital.

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Comparing literature

Roberts, Mary Nooter, Memory, New York 1996, p. 33, ill. 6

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