The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 20, 2024
Staff of Office
early to mid-1800s
Overall: 170 x 13.3 cm (66 15/16 x 5 1/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 2004.85
Location: 001A ArtLens Exhibition
Did You Know?
The Yeke kingdom ruler Chief Msidi gave this as a gift of appreciation to the British missionary Frederick Stanley Arnot, whom the chief had invited to his kingdom.Description
Sanctified by a ritual specialist and enhanced with medicinal substances, the staff possessed supernatural qualities and was endowed with healing power. Luba staffs are among the most important regalia of Luba kings. The metal point alludes to the kingdom's stability and durability. Each staff has its own distinctive iconography to reflect regional styles. As Chief Msidi (former owner of this staff) ruled over the Yeke kingdom (and not the Luba kingdom), it begs the question of how he acquired this symbol of another realm's power.- ?–1888Chief Msidi (c. 1830–1891), Yeke (Garanzange) Kingdom (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo), 1888, given to British missionary Frederick Stanley Arnot.1888–1914Frederick Stanley Arnot [1858-1914], probably Glasgow, Scotland, 1914, by descent to his son Dr. Arthur B. Arnot.1914–1987Dr. Arthur B. Arnot, New York, NY, 1987, consigned for auction at Sotheby’s.1987(Sotheby’s, Important Tribal Art, New York, NY, Nov. 10, 1987, Lot #79, sold to Philippe and Hélène Leloup for George Feher)1987–1990sGeorge Feher, New York, NY, 1990s, acquired by Morris Pinto?–1996Morris Pinto, New York, NY, 1996, acquired by Philippe and Hélène Leloup1996–2004Philippe and Hélène Leloup, Paris, France, 2004, donated to Marie Victoire Koch2004Marie Victoire Koch, Saint Mandé, France, 2004, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art2004–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OHProvenance Footnotes1 "Msidi's farewell was quite touching in its way. He was anxious that I should wait for his son to go with me. I did not care to encourage this, so declined to wait. At last, after finding that I sought nothing from him, he gave me from his side his rod of authority, or sceptre, assuring me that it would be, to all who knew him, an assurance of the friendship that exists between us." March 13, 1888 letter from Frederick Stanley Arnot reproduced in Arnot, Frederick. S. 1893. Bihé And Garenganze:Or Four Years' Further Work and Travel in Central Africa. London: J.E. Hawkin, pp. 244–45.
- Arnot, Fred S. Bihe and Garenganze: A record of four years’ work and journeying in Africa. London: J.E. Hawkins & Co, LTD., 1893, front cover. Front coverSotheby’s. Important Tribal Art. New York: Sotheby’s, 1987: Lot. 79. lot. 79Nooter, Robert and Nancy. The Art of Collecting African Art. New York City, NY: New York Center for African Art, 1988, 20-21. p. 20-21Bacquart, Jean-Baptiste. The Tribal Arts of Africa. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1998, 159. p. 159Cleveland Museum of Art. Annual Report 2004. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 67. p. 67 www.clevelandart.orgCleveland Museum of Art. “Major Acquisitions: 2000-2005.” In The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine: July/August 2005. (Summer 2005): 12. p. 12Petridis, Constantine. Art and Power in the Central African Savanna: Luba, Songye, Chokwe, Luluwa. Brussels: Mercatorfonds, 2008, 58-9, fig. 39. p. 58, 59: fig. 39Petridis, Constantine. "New Acquisitions of African Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art". In African Arts, 44, no. 1 (Spring 2011): 54, fig. 2. p. 54: fig. 2Petridis, Constantine, et al. Fragments of the Invisible: The René and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. Milan: 5 Continents, 2013, 107. Mentioned: p. 107
- Artlens Exhibition 2019. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer).Art and Power in the Central African Savanna. Menil Collection, Houston, TX (September 26, 2008-January 4, 2009); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 31, 2009); Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA (June 20-October 11, 2009).
- {{cite web|title=Staff of Office|url=false|author=|year=early to mid-1800s|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2004.85