Staff / Artist Unknown, African, Senufo Peoples, Côte d'Ivoire
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2001/2.25
- Title
- Staff
- Artist Nationality
- Ivorian
- Medium and Support
- wood
- Object Creation Date
- circa 1950
- Object Creation Place
- Africa (continent)
- Côte d'Ivoire (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Africa (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Côte d'Ivoire (nation)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Margaret H. and Albert J. Coudron
- Inscription
- FC61214 near bottom in white paint
- Dimensions
- 80 cm x 15.2 cm x 5.8 cm (31 1/2 in. x 6 in. x 2 5/16 in.)
- Century
- 20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Costume and Costume Accessory
- Primary Object Type
- staff
- Secondary Object Classification
- Ritual Objects
- Secondary Object Type
- carving
- Physical Description
- A stylized animal head, with an elongated open mouth and horizontally positioned, flat ears, sits atop a staff with decorative carvings along the shaft.
- Subject Matter
- The form of this staff is reminiscent of that of Senufo horizontal masks, which represent a composite image of a number of different elements. Among the various ethnic groups identified with the general term Senufo, staffs such as this one stand as emblems of the farming skills of their owners. Young men would compete in hoeing competitions as a way to prepare for their entrance into the farmers's secret society called Poro. A carved pole would be placed near the head of the line of young men, next to the most succesful hoers. Winners of the competition would receive a carved wooden or an iron staff to commemorate their success; these staffs would be proudly displaced at later agricultural competitions and ultimately at the owner's funeral.
- Secondary Keywords
- animals and creatures
- biological components
- ceremonial weapons
- components
- components and systems
- components by specific context
- head
- objects
- objects we use
- the human body
- the natural world
- 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
- 670 x 1470
- File Size
- 78 KB
- Record
- 2001/2.25
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2001-sl-2.25/2001_2.25.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:2001-SL-2.25:2001_2.25.JPG
Cite this Item
View the Help Guide for more information.
- Full citation
-
"Staff; Artist Unknown, African, Senufo Peoples, Côte d'Ivoire." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2001-sl-2.25/2001_2.25.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 16, 2024.
