Ashanti Linguist's Staff Depicting Chief Being Crowned

A chief, a high-backed chair, and an attendant lowering the crown. The coronation, in wood.

The Ashanti chief’s spokesman carried a staff whose carved top often recalled a proverb or a scene of authority. This one, 20th century, stands sixty-eight inches. The seated chief holds a short object. Behind him a standing attendant lowers a crown onto his head, bands of white cloth tied around the attendant’s head and waist.

The dark wood is worn smooth with age.

Wait for a pause in the conversation, then point to it. Someone will ask who gets the crown next.