Ashanti Linguist's Staff Depicting a Couple, Based

Green and black pole opens at the top like a tiny wishbone cradle.

This linguist’s staff depicting a couple is Ashanti, from Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is carved & painted wood. A linguist's staff is a carved wooden work of regalia with a detachable finial, sometimes compared to a king's scepter, though its form was influenced by European canes. Long dark shaft with green, twisted decoration and thin red bands, ending in a wide, forked top. Two small figures stand at the tips of the fork, facing one another. A black square plate stands beneath. It is 6 inches wide, 5.75 deep and 67.5 high.

Sleek enough to forgive how little there is to hold.