Fragment of a Staff
Unknown Artist
late 1800s–early 1900s
Medium
Wood, copper alloy, upholstery studs, and iron
Dimensions
34.5 × 3.2 × 5.4 cm
Classification
Implements
Department
African Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Kim Sherwin
Accession Number
2016.11
About this artwork
Though modest in scale and fragmentary in that its blade is missing, this is perhaps one of the finest surviving examples of a sculptural object in the little-known style of the Kalundwe people. It represents a poorly documented culture's artistic style that sits between the Songye to the west and the Luba to the east. Showing surface traces of continuous manipulation, the shaft of this short staff is entirely wrapped with a copper sheet, a common feature of rank emblems. Originally, it would ha...