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Staff of Office
early to mid-1800s
- Medium
- Wood and iron
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Dimensions
- Overall: 170 x 13.3 cm (66 15/16 x 5 1/4 in.)
- Culture
- Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Luba
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, African Art
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
Sanctified by a ritual specialist and enhanced with medicinal substances, the staff possessed supernatural qualities and was endowed with healing power. Luba staffs are among the most important regalia of Luba kings. The metal point alludes to the kingdom's stability and durability. Each staff has its own distinctive iconography to reflect regional styles. As Chief Msidi (former owner of this staff) ruled over the Yeke kingdom (and not the Luba kingdom), it begs the question of how he acquired this symbol of another realm's power.
