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Scepter

Before 1786
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
In addition to gold, ivory was a precious regional material that was avidly sought by commercial networks of exchange. This scepter, at once imposing and elegant, may be among the earliest artifacts traded along the coast and out of the region to enter a European princely collection. The abstract form of the finial has been likened to the summit of a fly whisk.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Scepter
  • Date: Before 1786
  • Geography: Senegal (?)
  • Medium: Elephant ivory
  • Dimensions: H. 36 1/4 × W. 3 1/8 × D. 1 9/16 in. (92 × 8 × 4 cm)
  • Classification: Bone/Ivory-Implements
  • Credit Line: Musée du Quai Branly–Jacques Chirac, Paris (71.1934.33.446 D)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing