Mbole Hand-Forged Copper Anklet Currency

A hand-hammered copper anklet of the Mbole people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Crescent-shaped and substantial in the hand, forms like this served as high-value currency, dowry payment, and a marker of standing among the Mbole and neighboring groups of Central Africa. The reddish-brown surface with its green oxidation is the record of long use and exposure.

Copper was a metal of wealth across Central and West Africa. Anklets of this weight were too heavy for daily wear; they were held as a store of value, exchanged in marriage negotiations and high-status transactions, and used in ceremonial exchange, functioning much as West African manillas and Katanga crosses did. The labor of forging one, worked through repeated heating and hammering by indigenous blacksmiths, was itself part of its value.

The piece weighs 3 lb 10 oz (1.64 kg) and measures 8.5 inches (21.6 cm) in diameter. Acquired from a private collection specializing in African tribal art.