Unusual in its hexadic finial of six elongated pod-like snuff containers with pointed stoppers, this staff suggests a southern African origin in its sophisticated design and refined play of form and function. A virtuoso carving, with multiple holders for snuff, it must have been carried by its owner with pride, attesting to his generosity impressing both the living and the ancestors. The cluster of pointed pods that create a crown-like apex with peaks and dips, has also been likened to the rapid-firing, multiple-barrel Gatling gun that was used with devastating effect on African populations by colonial forces in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In this manifestation it would have invoked the essences of power manifest in both the weapon and the ancestors.

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