Staff

late 19th-early 20th century

Staffs often serve as emblems of authority and status. This Akye linguist's staff depicts a chief carried on the shoulders of a retainer. Here, hearing the weight of another person probably refers to a proverb appropriate to the protocol of the court of an Akan king. The image of a person who bears a load upon his head, and the image of the person carrying a royal stool, are linked to proverbs warning against insubordination and insolence in the presence of superiors. The formal gesture of the ruler, face frozen and hands indicating belly and heart, refers to the sources of noble accomplishment.

Wood and metal

36 15/16 x 3 3/8 x 3 9/16 in. (93.9 x 8.5 x 9 cm)

Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

81.17.235

Provenance: [Merton D. Simpson Gallery, New York]; purchased from gallery by Katherine White (1929-1980), Seattle, Washington, 1961; bequeathed to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1981

Photo: Paul Macapia

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryLos Angeles, California, Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery, University of California, African Art in Motion: Icon and Act, Jan. 20 - Mar. 17, 1974 (Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, May 5 - Sept. 22, 1974). Text by Robert Farris Thompson. No cat. no., pp. 92, 95, reproduced pl. 124 (as linguist staff).

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Documents International: Reflections in the Mirror: A World of Identity, Apr. 23, 1998 - June 20, 1999.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back, Feb. 7 - May 19, 2002 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Oct. 2, 2004 - Jan. 2, 2005; Hartford, Connecticut, Wadsworth Atheneum, Feb. 12 - June 19, 2005; Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Art Museum, Oct. 8, 2005 - Jan. 1, 2006; Nashville, Tennessee, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Jan. 27 - Apr. 30, 2006 [as African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back]). Text by Pamela McClusky. No cat. no., pp. 52-53, reproduced pl. 31.

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