A Rare and Fine South African Tsonga Prestige Staff by the 'Baboon Master'

Period: 1800-1900

Origin: South Africa

Medium: Wood

Dimension: 88 cm (34⁵/₈ inches)

Literature: These staffs were used by indigenous Zulu leaders as ceremonial and important prestige items and were also carved for sale to European travellers and traders, soldiers and colonists who would purchase them as memento's of Zulu land.
The 'Baboon Master' was most probably a gifted migrant Tsonga wood carver working in the colony of Natal at the end of the 19th century and who developed a workshop carving staffs to meet a growing colonial commercial demand.