SOLD: Chamba Iron Gong Currency, Nigeria

SOLD: Chamba Iron Gong Currency, Nigeria

$0.00

Early 20th century
Dimensions

Various models of these original currency bearers were manufactured by the Chamba tribe. The bearing iron can have an oval, circular, or square shape. Suspended on this bearing, we have elongated iron pieces that resemble curled tobacco leaves, i.e. loose hanging change. This piece shows the monetary scale of the Chamba tribe; they could been spent both singularly and all at once (Ballarini, The Perfect Form, 2009).

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Copper Coil Currency, Igbo, Nigeria

$1,200.00

Igbo, Nigeria
20th century
Copper
Dimensions: 12 x 4.5 in. / 30 x 11 cm.
Height on custom display stand: 8 in./ 20 cm.

Known as a “coiled manilla,” this long strand of copper is shaped into a tight coil with two solid caps on each end (Ballarini, The Perfect Form, 2009).

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Metal Armlet / Bracelet from Niger

$600.00

Known as Mondua or Keguru
Zarma / Djerma, Niger
Solid copper
Early 20th century
Dimensions: 4 x 5 x 2 in. / 10 x 13 x 5 cm
Weight: 1568g

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Two African Currencies: Sara and Chamba

from $650.00

LEFT #TCS:

Southern Sara: Ngama / Madjingay / Daye / Ngambaye, Chad
Known as kuur,kul,orkeul
Iron
Early 20th century
14 x 4.75 in. / 35.5 x 12 cm
Height on custom display stand: 15.5 in. / 39 cm

The Ngam (Ngama) are a subgroup of the Sara, who live in Southern Chad and the Central African Republic. Even though the Ngam appear to be the only producers of these currencies, they were used by many Sara groups including the Daye, Kaba, Madjingay, Nar, and Ngambaye, and often traded quite far from their place of production.

Because they were derived from the sacred form of the Miya-bo throwing knife, whenever these currencies were exchanged, condensed stories of cosmology and mystical practice informed their value, connotations, and transformative efficacies, as well as expectations of what such transactions would afford. (Elsen, De fer et de fierté, 2003; Roberts, Joyce, and Berns, Striking Iron: The Art of African Blacksmiths, 2019; Zirngibl & Kubetz, Panga Na Visu, 2009).

$650

RIGHT #TCC:

Northeastern Nigeria: Bata, Chamba, Mumuye, Tiv, or Vere
Iron
Early 20th century
24.5 x 4 in. / 62 x 10 cm
Height on custom display stand: 26 in. / 66 cm

This is a mysterious object from northeastern Nigeria. In various sources, it has been described as being a bow tensioning knife, a close combat weapon used by archers, and a symbolic object used during festivals. It has been attributed to many different cultures from the region: Bata, Chamba, Mumuye, Tiv, and Vere (Zirngibl & Kubetz, Panga Na Visu, 2009).

$850

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