These two ceremonial implements of nearly identical form, one larger than the other, are considered a male and female pair. Each staff is carved from a single piece of wood and features a crescent-shaped blade surmounting a shaft, in the manner of a glaive. One staff bears a rounded node detail just beneath the blade representing a female breast, and the other a concave, ovate support representing a phallus. Warm brown surfaces lend a handsome effect to these elegant and rare pieces of Nguni woodworking.
PUBLICATION HISTORY
Merton Simpson Gallery, NY, September 1984, cat. no. 17.
Max Itzikovitz, Paris
Merton Simpson Gallery, New York
The Amy & Elliot Lawrence Collection, New York, acquired January, 1985
