Oromo Copper Pilgrimage Staff

Two long, graceful curves branch from a slim forked rod.

This pilgrimage staff is Oromo, from Ethiopia, East Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is wood & copper. Staffs of wood fitted with copper or brass are used across Ethiopia, where metal fittings often mark a staff as a walking aid or a symbol of status. Thin and dark, the staff divides at the top into two outward-curving arms. A small band of reddish wrapping marks the junction, and a faint second wrap appears lower on the long straight stem. It is 16 inches wide, 5 deep and 56 high.

All that height, and barely a gram of fuss.