Ashanti Linguist's Staff Depicting Mother Protecting Child, Based

Kneeling shooter, a fallen striped cat and a baby on the ground.

This linguist’s staff depicting mother protecting child is Ashanti, from Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is carved & painted wood. The Ashanti considered gold an embodiment of sunlight and life's vital force, and the kingdom was once known as the Kingdom of Gold, though most staffs are painted as gold disappeared. On a long plank base, a kneeling figure in a red patterned dress aims a pistol past a sleeping baby toward a downed striped cat. A small red and white tangle of figures lies near the cat's head. It is 3.5 inches wide, 11 deep and 61.5 high.

Dramatic enough that nobody in it needs a script.