STANDING MALE FIGURE HAS LEFT FOOT FORWARD, LEFT HAND RAISED AT RIGHT ANGLE TO BODY. RIGHT HAND IS RAISED ABOVE HEAD HOLDING A STAFF W/ A CROOKED END & A KNOB AT THE BENT AREA. FIGURE WEARS A KNEE-LENGTH WRAPPER THAT LEAVES THE RIGHT SHOULDER BARED & AN INCISED OUTLINE OF A NECKLACE. WRAPPER HAS INCISED OVAL DESIGN. WEARS CONICAL HAT W/ FLAT TOP, ALSO HAS SAME INCISED OVAL DESIGN. STYLIZED FACIAL FEATURES W/ INCISED DETAILS. ACCORDING TO MARY JO ARNOLDI, CURATOR OF AFRICAN ETHNOLOGY, BRASS CASTING & BRASS FIGURES ARE A LONG STANDING CRAFT SPECIALIZATION IN THIS AREA. BRASS FIGURES WERE CAST FOR USE ON COMMEMORATIVE STAFFS CALLED "ASEN" FOR THE FUNERALS OF IMPORTANT ELDER MEN & WOMEN. THESE STAFFS OFTEN INCLUDED GENRE FIGURES SIMILAR TO THIS ONE, WHICH WAS MADE FOR THE TOURIST TRADE.
