Staff c. 20th century

This staff was created by a Kongo artist at an unknown date, and you can find it at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I can only imagine what it felt like to carve such an object, with so much intent, from a piece of wood. To take a material that already has its own history, its own rings of time, its own life, and then to work with it, shaping it, giving it a new life, a new meaning, and a new purpose. It must have been a slow and deliberate process, each cut, each curve, each detail carefully considered. The two faces, staring in opposite directions, seem to be in dialogue. The top part of the staff culminates in a geometric pattern. The hair gives the staff an organic rawness. I wonder what it was like to add that element, to attach it to the carved wood. It's an amazing detail. This object must have held a very special significance. It makes you wonder about the power of objects, and how artists can imbue them with meaning and energy.