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Prestige axe
Songye / Nsapo
early 20th century
Object Place: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Medium/Technique
Metal, wood
Dimensions
Overall: 46 x 30 x 6 cm (18 1/8 x 11 13/16 x 2 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession Number2009.2666
CollectionsContemporary Art, Africa and Oceania
ClassificationsArms and armor
This axe, decorated with sheet copper and copper strips, is adorned with the open-worked, copper-overlay design of a handa on its iron blade. The handa was an ancient form of currency in the copper-rich Congo, often also called the Katanga cross. This type of axe was never used as a weapon, and was entirely ornamental, representing status and wealth.
Inscriptionsred plastic label: 64
Provenance1967, sold by Michel Huguenin, Galerie Majestic, Paris, to Geneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)