A staff «female figure» carved wood carved staff handle "Woman's head and breasts". Angolan - Ovimbundu 19th/20th C. faults and defects purchased in Porto, in 1975 Dimensões (altura x comprimento x largura) - 66 cm Notes: Provenance: Collection of Engineer Elísio Romariz dos Santos Silva, item number 237, referred to in the notebook of the collector «Angola - Arte Negra, Arte Negra, Relação e descrição das peças», identified in it as «Bastão»:"Topped by a woman's head, whose hairstyle formed 2 braids falling over the nape of the neck (the one on the left is broken and has disappeared) on top of the head there is a protrusion of the hairstyle. [...] Underneath the hairstyle and on the forehead, there is a decoration of 5 grooves (in the middle there are only 3). The staff's stem has 2 breasts, whose nipples are in the same position of almost extreme diameter. The base of the stem has an elongation. [...] Purchased in Oporto in 1975 [...]". "The staff representing unique figures (often female) generally represent the ancestral spirit that protects the respective owner […]" - cf. JORDÁN, Manuel - "Os Tshokwe e Povos Aparentados". In "Na presença dos Espíritos - Arte Africana do Museu Nacional de Etnologia, Lisboa". Lisboa: Museu Nacional de Etnologia, 2000, p. 111. There are staffs with some similar characteristics at the National Museum of Archeology - vd. http://www.matriznet.dgpc.pt/MatrizNet/Objectos/ ObjectosConsultar.aspx?IdReg=1072882 - consulted on February 24, 2023, at 08:29.