Ashanti Liguist's Staff Depicting Hen and Rooster, Based

The spokesman did the talking. The staff supplied the footnotes.

Ashanti artists of Ghana, West Africa, made this linguist’s staff in wood and pigment in the 20th century. Staffs like it were carried by the okyeame, who spoke on behalf of Akan chiefs, and their finials commonly illustrate proverbs. Here a rooster and a hen stand beak to beak on a narrow platform, their feathers softly worn and covered in a gold-colored finish. A ridged knob joins the birds to a long dark shaft.

About 62 inches overall. Stands in a corner and still gets the last word.