Ashanti Linguist's Staff Depicting Hunter with Lion, Based

Man raises a finger to his cheek beside a gaping, flat-faced cat.

This linguist’s staff depicting hunter with lion is Ashanti, from Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is carved & painted wood. Without a written language of their own, the Ashanti handed history and sayings down by word of mouth, and the article counts over 3,600 proverbs covering nearly every human situation. Upright man in a short wrap, one hand lifted to the face, standing next to a squat animal with an open hollow mouth and a tiny bump on its head. A blue board with worn paint carries both. It is 6.5 inches wide, 5 deep and 60 high.

Deep in thought, and neighbor to something loudly undecided.