Hammock Bar

This wooden carved item is listed in the British Museum records as a staff, but is more likely to be a hammock bar. It consists of a wooden bar, with a loop carved at each end. Attached to each loop is a carved head, on the left is a woman and the right a man, wearing a rimmed hat. This was originally part of the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum collection, originally acquired at Stevens Auction Rooms, London, in 1931. It was acquired by the British Museum in 1954. The original label reads “West African ceremonial wand, carved with two heads.”

Further Information

  • Type: Figures, sculpture, Domestic equipment, Textiles, cloth
  • Object: Hammock Bar
  • Materials: Wood
  • Culture Group: Mende
  • Dimensions: 780mm [L] x 650mm [W] x 70mm [C]
  • Production Date: Pre 1954
  • Associated Places: Unknown
  • Associated People: Wellcome Historical Medical Museum
  • Museum: British Museum
  • Accession Number: BM:Af.1954.23.1307

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