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Old 20th June 2022, 04:47 PM   #1
David
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Default Phurba-like possibly Africa Thing-a-jawhatsit

A friend of mine recently could resist this at a local flea market. Anyone have any ideas about origin and purpose. It reminds me of a wooden phurba, but it's not Tibetan. The faces look a bit like African carvings. Seems to have some age. Maybe vintage rather than antique. Any input would be appreciated . Thanks
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Old 20th June 2022, 07:14 PM   #2
kronckew
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King's ceremonial war club/sceptre?
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Old 21st June 2022, 02:22 PM   #3
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Maybe. But the metal wrapped point on the bottom gives me the impression that it is meant to be stuck into the ground like a stake of some kind.
What do you think about origin? Any recognizable motifs?
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Old 21st June 2022, 03:32 PM   #4
colin henshaw
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It looks like its meant to be a Chokwe (Angola/Congo area) staff of office. However, given the low quality carving I would guess it was likely made for selling to Europeans (tourists).
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Old 22nd June 2022, 07:54 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by colin henshaw View Post
It looks like its meant to be a Chokwe (Angola/Congo area) staff of office. However, given the low quality carving I would guess it was likely made for selling to Europeans (tourists).
Yes, my guess would also be that this was made for the market more that for cultural use. Any photos of wood working from the Congo showing similar motifs?
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Old 23rd June 2022, 10:10 AM   #6
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Yes, my guess would also be that this was made for the market more that for cultural use. Any photos of wood working from the Congo showing similar motifs?
Here are a couple of examples of Chokwe carving from the internet, you can see the style similarities...
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