CONGOLESE LUBA PRESTIGE STAFF OR SCEPTER Luba prestige staff or scepter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Carved from a single piece of dark, polished wood, the item features a slender, bulbous handle surmounted by a finely detailed female figure seated in a meditative posture. The figure is characterized by a serene facial expression with a prominent, flattened beard-like chin ornament—likely a symbol of elderhood or high social status—and a sophisticated coiffure that sweeps back from the forehead. Her torso is adorned with intricate geometric scarification patterns, which in Luba culture are not only aesthetic marks of beauty but also coded "maps" of history, memory, and spiritual identity. Traditionally, such scepters were held by chiefs, diviners, or titled officials as emblems of their ancestral authority and their right to rule or provide spiritual guidance to the community. Height: 20 inches $120-160
