A Rare and Fine South African Tsonga Prestige Staff by the 'Baboon Master' (1800 to 1900 South Africa)

Wood

88.00cm high (34.65 inches high)

Provenance: Private English collection See Finch and Co catalogue no. 8, item no's 30 and 80, for other examples

These staffs were used by indigenous Zulu leaders as ceremonial and important prestige items and were also carved for sale to European travellers and traders, soldiers and colonists who would purchase them as memento's of Zulu land.
The 'Baboon Master' was most probably a gifted migrant Tsonga wood carver working in the colony of Natal at the end of the 19th century and who developed a workshop carving staffs to meet a growing colonial commercial demand.

A Rare and Fine South African Tsonga Prestige Staff by the ‘Baboon Master’
Depicting a Zulu elder wearing a head-ring
Fine silky reddish brown patina
Late 19th Century

Size: 88 cm long – 34¼ ins long