Nupe Bronze Staff Currency, Based

Another way to carry wealth, if you dislike pockets.

Nupe metalworkers of Nigeria, West Africa, made this staff currency in bronze in the late 19th or early 20th century. Staffs of this kind are often described as currency or as status objects in Nigeria. A long, tapering shaft flares to a six-sided head with a flat top, with a ringed collar and a swelling knop partway down. Bands of tiny ridges ring the shaft, and the lower end finishes in a spike.

About 21.8 inches tall. A floor lamp that forgot the bulb.