R.0045, wooden staff from Zimbabwe

This object is a long wooden staff from UCL’s Ethnographic Collection. Its accession number is R.0045. It has a wooden round, ball-shaped attachment at one end (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Staff, Object R.0045

This staff is 142 cm long. It appears to be carved in wood and then polished for smoothness. It is possible to see the tool marks made by carving, at the top of the object where the ball-like shape is connected to the staff and along the length of the staff.

This staff is from Zimbabwe. It was a part of the George Henry Walker’s Collection. George Henry walker lived in Bulawayo in about 1910. The object was donated by his niece G. Penwarden after his death. According to the UCL database, this object is a “plain wooden staff”. However, this staff resembles “knobkerrie” — a weapon used in Zimbabwe.

The history of the staff, provides an understanding of its significance to several groups of people. Firstly, a staff in itself, if considered as a walking stick, falls into a category of household objects that have been a necessity for the elderly and the disabled. Secondly, this object was for personal use for its original owner. Therefore it could be significant for their descendants.

On the other hand, if this object is a knobkerrie, it has cultural and historical value for two stakeholder groups — the people from Zimbabwe, and the students and admirers of Zimbabwe’s culture and history. Moreover, as a knobkerrie, this object was used in different ways by two different communities. The differences in the use, adds another aspect to the value of this object.

The staff or knobkerrie is currently stored by hanging it on a metal rack by tying it with twill tape. Overall this object is stored in a stable condition. However, certain parts

of this object show signs of deterioration. They are indicated in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Illustration of signs of deterioration on the staff

There are water stains on the length of the staff in 4 locations (see Figure 2). There is a crack on the ball or knob shaped part of the staff (see Figure 3). It starts in the middle of the knob and continues onto the length of the staff.

Figure 3: Crack on the staff

There is an old sticker on the staff. Some discoloration of the wood is visible where the sticker has been peeled off (see Figure 4).

Figure 4: Discoloration of wood where the sticker is peeled off

There is a new scratch on the staff (see Figure 5) that was not observed until the last examination. These signs of deterioration need to be monitored to prevent further damage.

Figure 5: New scratch on the staff