Luba staffs of office (kibango) convey complex ideology and are among the most plentiful of Luba royal insignia. A staff’s motifs are linked to individual ownership and could be created for a range of personages—high-ranking political officers, diviners, titleholders, or territorial chiefs. Elements of a staff encode the histories, genealogies, and migrations of a particular family, lineage, or chiefdom, and serve as mnemonic devices to aid in the understanding of past political and historical events. Here, a female figure sits on the edge of the staff’s upper element, arms crossed over her breasts, signaling that she is the recipient of secret wisdom. Among Luba, women’s bodies preserve spiritual and worldly power. This figure is shown in the prime of life, with elaborate scarifications and a complex hairdo. A finely incised linear pattern covers the top triangular element and middle lozenge; the latter is also pierced. The long shaft is wrapped in coiled copper. At the base is a pointed iron shaft, designed for forceful insertion into the earth, denoting stability, strength, and indigenous authority, as iron was smelted and forged in local workshops. The length of each element may represent the proportional distances between an individual’s domain: the long shaft is the uninhabited savannah, the triangular element and the middle lozenge refer to administrative centers, and the female figure symbolizes the dignitary in whose honor the staff was made.
Provenance: Acquired 1980, Karin R. Lehuard and Leo Oosterom (1937−1987) Collection, The Hague and Amsterdam; Sold [Christie’s, Paris 4 December 2009, lot 90] to; Nancy Ingram Nooter (30 November 1927–4 February 2020) and Robert Harry Nooter (14 July 1926–3 September 2022), Washington, D.C., gifted 2022 to; LACMA.