Walking stick - local name 'lookide' - made by an Arawak carver, Roland Taylor, from St. Cuthbert's Mahaica River, Region 4, Guyana. Roland was one of the first carvers to use ebony or banya wood in carving totem pole figures and animal forms such as snakes, frogs, birds, and shaman figures. His stick, though slightly different in style from the one made by Foster Simon [2003.423], has the same Amerindian theme of forest spirits, the shaman, and the transformations from an animal to human form. These are themes that occur in other Ronald's works. This walking stick was purchased in May 2003 with other 39 items.
A long, dark wooden staff with a curved handle at the top, below which is carved the head of a bird with a fierce beak, then a smooth tapering section (perhaps the body of the bird); then there is a humanoid figure, and beneath that the stick is plain until the tip, which is carved into the shape of a pair of feet. The staff is plain on the back.
walking stick; lookide
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