Phurba-like possibly Africa Thing-a-jawhatsit

[colin henshaw]

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).

[David]

Originally Posted by colin henshaw

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?

[colin henshaw]

Originally Posted by David

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...