1969.S.123 Staff with standing female figure

This staff of office is surmounted by a female posed with her hands to her breasts. This meaningful gesture refers to a mature woman's guarding of royal secrets. In Luba society, feminine maturity was manifested in a scarified body. Scarification patterns began to be applied upon initiation into womanhood and were added to and renewed throughout a woman's life. A deceased king would find a sculpture depicting a scarified woman to be a desirable container for his spirit.

Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, Arts of Africa, 2015.

n.d.: Clark and Frances Stillman Collection, Dallas, Texas/New York

1969: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of Eugene and Margaret McDermott [1]

[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

Apply to objects where number equals 1969.S.123