Currency Axe
Mboshi / Ngala, Northern Republic of Congo
Solid brass
Early 20th century

This solid-brass currency axe is clearly related to similar objects made by the Ngata and Ngombe, who are the eastern neighbors of the Mboshi, the dominant culture of the area. While brass alloys were produced on the continent, most brass material was imported from Europe and served as a flashy symbol of wealth. As such, this small axe would have been an ostentatious piece of jewelry. While the blade is mostly undecorated, the handle is elaborately incised with geometric designs on every side.

Living along the banks of the Lualaba River, the 110,000 Ngala share the same political structure as the Ngbaka: a regional chief, village head, and family elders collectively control the tribe’s social and political life. As traders, they regulate the traffic on the Lualaba River (Bacquart, Tribal Arts of Africa, 1998). 

There is an axe in the collection of the Museum of Cultural History (Oslo, #UEM14867), that is extremely similar, pictured below. 

11.25 in :: 28.5 cm

InventoryID #13-3016

Price on Request