Ebony staff, a seated human figure carved at one end [ZM 13/07/2015]

Collection type: Object
Description: Ebony staff, a seated human figure carved at one end [ZM 13/07/2015]
Geographical reference: Papua New Guinea
Oceania > Melanesia > Papua New Guinea; Trobriand Islands
Person: Field collector Henry Balfour; PRM source Henry Balfour
Date / Period: Date made: Before 1911
Date collected: By 1911
Acquisition information: Donated: 1911
Materials and processes: Material Ebony Wood Plant, Process Carved
Dimensions: Length: max 897 mm
Object numbers: Accession number: 1911.10.23
Research and responses: See page 122 of Eric Kjellgren, Oceania: art of the Pacific Islands in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007) for the following description of ritual staffs from the Trobriand Islands: 'Ritual staffs were produced in the Trobriand Islands but they appear to have been primarily employed in the southern Massim region, where they were used in some areas for healing rites and in others for malevolent magic. The tops of the staffs were typically adorned with one or two seated figures. These human images, like those on the lime spatulas, may have served as temporary residing places for spirits - in this case, for spirits who assisted the religious specialist in the rites.' [ZM 13/07/2015]

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