Diviner's Staff c. 20th century

This wrought-iron Diviner's Staff was made by a Yoruba artist, a community of makers and thinkers, who took this metal and used it to bring something into being. What would it be like to be that artist, coaxing, bending, and hammering a hard material into these softer forms? I wonder if the artist felt a little like a bird charmer, inviting those curious creatures to land on his creation. Look how the birds perch on top. One is elongated into a slim elegant form with a long beak, the other more squat. Maybe there was something in the fire that day as the iron took shape. The basket weave construction suggests a vessel, perhaps a place of rest and contemplation for the birds? It looks like they're being held. I imagine it would be a very physical process, this working of metal. But the result has a lightness to it. As artists, we all stand on each other's shoulders, don't we? We each have to feel our way through the darkness, using our intuition as a kind of diviner's staff to find the way.