Description
The blade of this ceremonial weapon juts outward from a baboon’s mouth. It is possible that weapons like this were related to blacksmithing. Alternatively, the weapon may have belonged to a diviner whose skills derived from a close relationship with a wilderness spirit. Special training allows diviners to work in concert with such spirits to reveal the sources of human illness and trouble. Wilderness spirits often ask the people they possess to have unique objects like this weapon, or an elaborate belt [see 2011.706] made for them, to be displayed during a diviner’s public trance performances.
Provenance
Mr. Jimmy Jones (died 2006) and Mrs. Jetta Norris Jones, Chicago, Ill., by 1999; given to the Art Institute, 1999.
Accession Number
152860
Medium
Wood and iron
Dimensions
39.4 × 29.9 × 5.8 cm (15 1/2 × 11 3/4 × 2 1/4 in.)
Classification
wood
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. Jimmy and Mrs. Jetta Jones