Chokwe, Angola
Circa 1900
Wood
Length 27 1/2 in (69.9 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, Los Angeles, CA
This staff is surmounted by a small carved figure with defined facial features, arms held at the sides, and a cylindrical collar separating the figure from the shaft below. Among the Chokwe of Angola, staffs of this type were associated with authority, status, and the visual language of chiefly power, where figural finals extended the meaning of the object beyond its practical function. The warm dark patina across the full length of the shaft is consistent with age and handling.
The slender proportions and restrained carving of the finial figure are characteristic of Chokwe staff production, where formal economy and surface quality carry the object's presence rather than elaboration of detail. Chokwe carving is recognized as among the most refined in Central Africa, and staffs of this type are represented in major ethnographic collections worldwide. The Los Angeles private collection provenance is consistent with the American West Coast collector market for African art.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Chokwe, Angola
Circa 1900
Wood
Length 27 1/2 in (69.9 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, Los Angeles, CA
This staff is surmounted by a small carved figure with defined facial features, arms held at the sides, and a cylindrical collar separating the figure from the shaft below. Among the Chokwe of Angola, staffs of this type were associated with authority, status, and the visual language of chiefly power, where figural finals extended the meaning of the object beyond its practical function. The warm dark patina across the full length of the shaft is consistent with age and handling.
The slender proportions and restrained carving of the finial figure are characteristic of Chokwe staff production, where formal economy and surface quality carry the object's presence rather than elaboration of detail. Chokwe carving is recognized as among the most refined in Central Africa, and staffs of this type are represented in major ethnographic collections worldwide. The Los Angeles private collection provenance is consistent with the American West Coast collector market for African art.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
