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Staff-Rattle (Ntafu Maluangu)

Arts of Africa

CULTURES Woyo or Yombe
MEDIUM Wood, pigment, ferrous screw
  • Possible Place Made: Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • DATES 19th century
    DIMENSIONS 18 3/4 x 2 7/8 x 2 1/4in. (47.6 x 7.3 x 5.7cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Arts of Africa
    ACCESSION NUMBER 22.476
    CREDIT LINE Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund
    PROVENANCE Prior to 1922, provenance not yet documented; by 1922, acquired by François Poncelet of Brussels, Belgium; 1922, purchased from François Poncelet by Stewart Culin in Brussels for the Brooklyn Museum.
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    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Carved, standing Janus figure, light hardwood, staff-rattle. One side male, the other female. Both have bottoms of chins with scarification marks; headdresses that are mushroom-shaped; and ears in the forms of question marks. Male holds stick upright in hands in front of body. Running along one side, between the two bodies, is a large crack; several other cracks are on the staff below the Janus figure.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Woyo. Staff-Rattle (Ntafu Maluangu), 19th century. Wood, pigment, ferrous screw, 18 3/4 x 2 7/8 x 2 1/4in. (47.6 x 7.3 x 5.7cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.476. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.22.476_front_PS5.jpg)
    IMAGE front, CUR.22.476_front_PS5.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2010
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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