Ashanti Linguist's Staff Depicting a Figure Holding a Kola Nut

Against his chest, a kola nut. In the Ashanti court, that gesture rarely comes without meaning.

He tops a linguist’s staff, carved in the 20th century in Ghana. The Ashanti linguist, the chief’s spokesman, carried one as a sign of office. The figure has a long neck, a dark face and a simple tunic. He stands on a square block carved with vertical ridges above a gilded shaft. Whitewash with traces of red softens the surface, and the full staff stands more than five and a half feet tall.

Hold the staff, and you hold the floor. Politely.