Catalogue card: Stave (Ohimede of Iyekurion) with elaborate puzzle-carving terminating in a human figure holding X- and L shaped sticks.
Labelled 'Thomas Colln, S. Nigeria 1910-13, 2230.320'
Carved wooden staff with central rattle section and standing figure holding a pair of tongs and a ?hammer. The figure is wearing a cap, has scarification marks on face and torso, is wearing armlets and bracelets and is holding a pair of tongs in one hand and a blacksmith's hammer in the other. The rattle section is incised with geometric designs and has three slits through which the rattle can be seen. There are insect casings, a section at the back is missing and several smaller chips of wood are also missing.
Carved wooden staff with central rattle section and standing figure holding a pair of tongs and a ?hammer. The figure is wearing a cap, has scarification marks on face and torso, is wearing armlets and bracelets and is holding a pair of tongs in one hand and a blacksmith's hammer in the other. The rattle section is incised with geometric designs and has three slits through which the rattle can be seen.
During the collections-based phase of the Museum Affordances Project 2018, photographs of some of these rattle staffs were shared on the project Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/reentanglements/).
In a comment on 01/10/2018, Adenike Cosgrove wrote: ' This looks to be an Edo ukhurhe rattle staff. You can read more about them here: https://www.imodara.com/.../nigeria-edo-ukhurhe-rattle.../'
These staffs (Z 20317 - Z 20342) appear to have been carved by the same hand, or in the same workshop and were collected by N.W. Thomas as a group. They are listed in Thomas' 1st catalogue (Doc.413) as entries 308-335, which are situated at the very back of the catalogue.
Other/1
A selection of rattle staff collected by Northcote Thomas are shown together in Image 390447.