Staff Weapon

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Staff Weapon, crafted by an unknown artist, features a long, dark gray metal pole with two decorative rings around it, one near the top and one lower down. At the top of the pole, a light-colored metal piece protrudes, resembling a dagger or spike. Emerging from either side of this piece are two curved, snake-like metal appendages. Each snake-like appendage has a head on the end with an open mouth; their bodies curve outward and then back in toward the center, forming a protective or decorative guard around the protruding metal piece. The background of the image is a plain light gray color.