Staff / Artist Unknown, African, Luba People Democratic Republic of the Congo
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2001/2.75
- Title
- Staff
- Artist Nationality
- Congolese
- Medium and Support
- wood with metal
- Object Creation Date
- 1900-1940
- Object Creation Place
- Africa (continent)
- Congo, Democratic Republic of the (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Africa (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Congo, Democratic Republic of the (nation)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Margaret H. and Albert J. Coudron
- Inscription
- FX93117 near bottom in white paint
- Dimensions
- 126.8 cm x 17.3 cm x 8 cm
- Primary Object Classification
- Costume and Costume Accessory
- Primary Object Type
- staff
- Secondary Object Classification
- Ritual Objects
- Secondary Object Type
- carving
- Physical Description
- Janus heads with elaborate headgear top a staff with a long, thin shaft and broader hourglass-shaped sections with a stylized human head in the middle of each one. The staff is covered with carved geometrical patterns of triangles, lozenges and lines, and ends in a metal-coiled tip at the bottom; it is heavy and has a shiny black patina.
- Subject Matter
- Luba staffs are like maps or historic documents that tell the story of the genealogy of a particular leader, the history of his lineage and its relations to the precolonial Luba kingdom. No two staffs are the same, because no two chiefs or locations share the exact same history. The Janus heads on a staff of office like this one represent the twin spirits of Luba kingship, Mpanga and Banze. The long, thin shaft of the staff represents the wilderness, while the two broad sections indicate specific "dibulu," or administrative royal centers, with the heads pointing to particular locales of rich natural resources (and to the earth spirits guarding such wealth). As a whole, the staff records the journey from the royal center at the top to the local leader's own village at the bottom.
- Secondary Keywords
- biological components
- ceremonial weapons
- components
- components and systems
- components by specific context
- objects
- objects we use
- the human body
- upper body
- weapons
- weapons and ammunition
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 698 x 1504
- File Size
- 81 KB
- Record
- 2001/2.75
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2001-sl-2.75/2001_2.75.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:2001-SL-2.75:2001_2.75.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Staff; Artist Unknown, African, Luba People Democratic Republic of the Congo." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2001-sl-2.75/2001_2.75.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 19, 2024.
