Carved Wooden Ceremonial Board Staff

Image Artifacts

A photograph of a carved wooden board staff featuring relief figures and four projecting heads.

A carved wooden ceremonial board staff with four finial heads. From the Jones Collection, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge.

A photograph depicting a carved wooden figure, possibly a ceremonial board staff, featuring a multi-register relief carving. The structure consists of a base board decorated with various faces, bodies, and geometric shapes. From the top of the board project four short poles, each terminating in a stylized human head with distinct decorative coiffures. The lower register features a prominent central face with a patterned forehead, flanked by smaller humanoid forms and patterned columns. The work is characterized by manual subtractive carving techniques and organic material wear, reflecting Igbo sculptural traditions from the Ahiara region.

Community Notes

Onyeka Nwokike

Sep 22, 2026

Ahiara is historically known as Ahiara Ofo Iri, which translates to Ahiara of the Ten Scepters. In this tradition, each scepter represents one of the ten villages that constitute the city (Ahiara - Wikiwand).

Onyeka Nwokike

Sep 22, 2026

The photograph was taken by Kenneth C. Murray, an English art curator and teacher who conducted regional surveys of Igbo and Yoruba art forms in the 1930s (Grokipedia). Working around Owerri in Imo State with the assistance of an informant named Ugoji, Murray focused on documenting traditional art practices, including the collection of Ogbom sculptures and the cataloging of uli motifs (The Artfield).