A Zulu Staff

A Zulu Staff, Kwa Zulunatal South Africa dated 1919, inscribed 'N.S.', with a copper wire binding, 33.75in (86cm) l; together with a South African Northern Nguni carved wooden dance Staff, with a curved blade and two indentations to one side; and a 19th century South African wood knobkerrie. (3) The Zulu staff provides a date from which other Zulu staffs could be comparatively dated. Many hardwood Zulu staffs are often dismissed as 'modern'. This one provides proof that many of them may well not be. Art & Ambiguity; (Johannesburg 1991) No's 148 and 149.