Rattle Staff (ukhuhre)
1900s
Maker Unknown
African Art
Rattle Staff (ukhuhre), 1900s. Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, member(s) of the Igbesanmwan (wood and ivory carvers) guild. Wood, paint, cowrie shells, and plant fiber; overall: 149.5 x 7.5 x 8 cm (58 7/8 x 2 15/16 x 3 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Phyllis Sloane in memory of Rose White 1998.85 Rattle staffs (ukhuhrẹ) are instruments of memory and sound. Though this staff represented a single elite man, it evokes the individuals in his lineage. Inspired by bamboo, it is divided into segments that link three carved men dressed in coral-beaded finery. Benin courtiers still carry these staffs during celebrations and rituals. By banging the staff on the ground, a rattling sound emanates from its open center, where a wooden cylinder rolls freely. The noise alerts ancestral spirits to prayers offered on their behalf. When not in use, they are stored on ancestral altars.
- Maker/Artist
- Maker Unknown
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Formatted Medium
- Wood, paint, cowrie shells, and plant fiber
- Dimensions
- Overall: 149.5 x 7.5 x 8 cm (58 7/8 x 2 15/16 x 3 1/8 in.)
- Departments
- African Art
- Accession Number
- 1998.85
- Credit Line
- Gift of Phyllis Sloane in memory of Rose White
- Rights Statement
- CC0
- Museum Location
- 108A Sub-Saharan
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