Staff finial

Luguru

Tanzania

Late 19th Century

Wood, Metal

64.5cm

ex. James Stephenson, Brooklyn

ex. John and Nicole Dintenfass, New York

While standalone figures from Eastern Africa are rare, figural staff tops make up for their absence. These can range from portrait-like depictions to rather stylized and abstracted anthropomorphic and animal forms. Almost all Tanzanian figurative sculpture is related in some way to healing or sorcery, with the vast majority being anthropomorphic gourd stoppers used to contain medicinal mixtures, and the staffs used during healing rituals. The Luguru are a matrilineal Bantu ethnic group native to the Uluguru mountains, who participate in similar ritual traditions to their nearby Kwere and Zaramo neighbors. This example, being carved in a dense hardwood typical of East African staffs, displays a deep chocolate brown color with black pokerwork on the hair and loincloth. It depicts a young woman wearing a traditional, swept-back coiffure frequently seen in Luguru art. The scarifications on the face and upper belly lead me to believe that this example is older than many others which have appeared on the market, supported by the archaic form and workmanship.