Ashanti Linguist's Staff Depicting Leopard

Spotted gold cat curls its tail over its back like a question.

This linguist’s staff depicting leopard is Ashanti, from Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is gilded 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. Spotted long-bodied cat covered in gold leaf, with a tail that arches forward and curls into a knot over its back. The face is flat with simple incised whiskers, and the animal stands on a thin rectangular slab. It is 2.5 inches wide, 7 deep and 65 high.

Glittering, supple, and plainly aware that it is the best-dressed predator.