Ashanti Linguist's Staff Depicting Seated Figure with Bird, Serpent & Pot

Seated figure in a pointed cap shares a table with a bird and a pot.

This linguist’s staff depicting seated figure with bird, serpent & pot is Ashanti, from Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is carved & painted wood. Each staff finial was made as a visual form of one or more Ashanti proverbs, and the staffs were carved from wood, mostly painted, with some accented in gold leaf. Golden-toned figure sits upright on a stool, its tall peaked cap ending in a point. In front are a round pot and a hooked-beak bird on thin legs, all arranged on a small rectangular platform with a smooth finish. It is 5.5 inches wide, 6.5 deep and 67.5 high.

Calm company, a pot, a bird, and nowhere better to be.