Pair of Yoruba Ceremonial Staffs

A staff is a sentence in the language of office. Carry one, and nobody asks who is in charge.

The Yoruba of Nigeria have long carried staffs as signs of office, and used them in ritual and ceremony. This pair dates to the 20th century and stands about two feet tall. Each is a straight, dark metal rod capped at each end by a conical finial in lighter, brass-colored metal. The finials are finely textured and set off by flanged collars. The dark shaft has a soft, hand-worked sheen.

Two of them. Authority likes company.